


Hopeful Optimism

by StrawberryKitten



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M, IT KEEPS GETTING SADDER, John (Twelve) is an idiot as fucking always, John (Twelve) knows a lot of things he shouldn't, Maybe some angst, Probably some angst, Sadness, Sadness everywhere, Soulmate AU, but humor will be here i swear, but optimism about the possibilities, okay lotsa sadness, rating may go up later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-09-20 22:24:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9518615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawberryKitten/pseuds/StrawberryKitten
Summary: Sarah Jane is a journalism student who does art as a part-time hobby, after being convinced by one of her friends Jack to try using the university art room to have better equipment James walked in on her being an actual art student himself. After a slightly awkward moment they were able to speak, and thus start a new friendship.





	1. Chapter 1

_"Hey, you know if you like drawing so much you might as well use the art room." Jack suggested as he peeked over Sarah's shoulder, she of course immediately shielded away her drawing. Like most artists of any kind, she seemed to feel extremely uncomfortable whenever someone took a peek at her sketches while she was drawing. Jack immediately pulled back, raising a hand in apology "It would be nice to have a space where you can do so in quiet, with the right lighting you know? The art classes end at three, so you won't be disturbed."_

_"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, I mean I can draw at home right?" Sarah Jane asked gripping her sketchbook slightly "It's mostly just so I have something to do that isn't reading or writing. Last thing I need is to get caught sneaking in the classroom."_

_"You won't get caught." Jack grinned "All the lecturers are too busy to notice one student drawing alone in the classroom being ever so quiet."_

_"I guess I could use some time away from home." She considered, to be fair the idea of getting such a chance was tempting enough, at least an empty art classroom was far less intimidating than her dark, rather spacious apartment._

_Of course, she didn't intent on anyone finding out she had such an expensive place, but Jack and Donna were quick to figure it out. In fact they show up every morning to her place just down the hill from the university, just so she wouldn't have to walk up alone._

_She was thankful truthfully, that walk up the hill wasn't nearly as long as it used to be._

_"Exactly! You should go, take some time to relax." Jack smiled brightly at her considering the idea, he was only trying to give his friend more methods of stress relief after all. Sarah glanced at her drawing, the small bird she had started was barely finished...maybe with the right lighting and ability to bring more equipment she could make it look far better._

* * *

 

It had been two weeks since then, every night she would spend at least an hour in the empty art room. She had gained an interest in drawing birds in particular but she also liked drawing flowers or anything she grew interested in when looking for references online and it actually helped her feel more refreshed when she went back to studying her topic. Art was hard though, there were moments where she actually got frustrated and had to remember to stay quiet unless she was at home about it, but today she felt like she was actually going through a rather excellent streak. The hawk she had started thirty minutes ago was now looking rather excellent compared to her other works. Improvement always seemed to give that spark of motivation she so needed to keep going despite any mistakes she may make.

After taking a moment to consider what type of brown she wanted to use from her collection of colored pencils, she suddenly heard the creek of the door.

She slowly turned her head, feeling hear heart beat fasten. Last thing she needed was to get caught in a classroom she shouldn't even be in, and the only guess of who could be here was possibly a lecturer who decided to return to collect something they had forgotten.

Staring back was a man with bright blue eyes, his hair appeared to just reach his shoulders, he tilted his head for a moment almost as if he was trying to figure out if he knew her or had seen her before. Possibly because from the sight if the portfolio he was holding he was an  _actual_ art student. There was a silence between them as they just stared at each other for a moment, the man opened his mouth a few times but no words came out.

At least until this time.

"Oh...hi." He simply stated before nervously clearing his throat.

"Hi." Sarah responded, holding her sketchbook close to her chest, she was either in a lot of trouble or just created an extremely awkward moment.

"I've never seen you in class." He commented, Sarah shook her head before giving an awkward smile.

"No, I don't study art..." Sarah said, the man finally left the doorway and into the room, closing the door behind him. he probably already figured out that she  _really_ isn't supposed to be here.

"Ah...that explains why I've never seen you before then." He said, his voice suddenly growing softer "So...you just come here to draw or?"

"Pretty much, I'll go crazy if I don't have something to do other than staring at textbooks." She answered, have gave a slight chuckle.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one." He said in a gentle tone as he took a chair "Do you mind if I stay a while?"

Sarah shook her head "It's fine."

He smiled brightly before sitting down, he himself getting out one of his own sketchbooks "I know that artist don't like other people looking at their unfinished work, but you know there is a level of safety doing so with someone who also does art. Like, you won't get a 'where is the legs then?' comment on something completely in the beginning stages." He rambled as he started to turn the pages. "So...um, anything you particularly like to draw?"

"Birds, not sure why so don't expect a deep answer." She replied, he seemed to chuckle again at her response.

"Well, I myself like butterflies the most and I don't have a deep answer either. I honestly don't know why so many people can come up with one." He shrugged, as he got out one of his pencils. He immediately went to sketching "So...I'm James."

"I'm Sarah Jane." She smiled as she returned to her own drawing.

"It's really nice to meet you! So what do you normally study?" He asked with a bright smile.

"Journalism." She simply answered "Considering it's a completely different department it's no wonder that we've never run into each other."

"Journalism? That seems really interesting, any area you're going into in particular?" He asked, he seemed...rather invested despite the fact that they just met.

"I want to be a freelance, what about you what do you want to do?" She asked wanting to at least not have the entire conversation about herself. After all, she was curious.

"Well...I'm not actually sure." He responded stopping his pencil to go into thought "I don't think I got much of a chance to think about that."

"You have plenty of time to figure it out right?"

"Exactly."

Somehow, he managed to get her talking about everything...and when he rambled he really knew how to ramble but at least it wasn't the kind to bore her or make her uninterested. She actually enjoyed listening and he seemed truly interested in what she was drawing, enough for her to finally stop shying away from showing another person her work. He complimented her coloring skills, gave her advice on something she was struggling with and even showed her his own...giving words of encouragement and shining with optimism. It was worth the awkward moment, that was for sure and she didn't even realize what time it was by the end.

She checked to see it had gone  _far_ later than she would normally go home, she went from staying only one hour to three and that meant that she had to go before she was locked on the campus. After all, she didn't live in a dorm where she could simply walk to even if the gates were locked. Without thinking he even followed her outside as they kept talking, his voice seemed oddly soothing among the silence, when she had to leave through the gate and after being glared at by the security guard who was supposed to  _lock_ said gate she said her goodbyes.

"So...is it alright if I showed up tomorrow?" James asked with hopeful eyes.

"Of course, when I finish that hawk, I'd like to show you." She responded making him seem excited.

"Then same time tomorrow and without the awkward silence?"

"Same time tomorrow."

He walked back after saying goodnight at least three times, and then she was left with the usual deathly silence.

The walk down the hill seemed suddenly rather slow again, it was nice she made a new friend...an interesting and sweet one that but it did make her notice how silent things were when she was alone, it was like how Jack and Donna made the mornings far more enjoyable. It was company she didn't usually have unless she was in the university or being dragged somewhere by those two.

And...she didn't even ask for his number in case she can't show up, geez.

When she entered her apartment and turned on the light, she was already a little tired. After all she did just spend hours talking to James in the art room and came home extremely late. She was glad she had grown up and moved away from her aunt as she would be really hearing it right now, she would be asked ' _where were you!?_ ' and get a lecture on letting her know if she was going home late. Sarah then decided maybe she should just go to bed, she was tired and she wanted to go to bed in this good mood. Turning off the living room light, she headed straight to her bedroom...she needed to think of what she was going to draw next.

* * *

 

The next morning, Sarah went as normal before she walked outside to see her friends waiting patiently. This time though they looked slightly suspicious, their grins were obviously showing that they were up to something again.

"Good morning then." Sarah said as she walked passed them as though she was planning to leave them behind, of course they would quickly follow behind her.

"Hey! You're not even going to ask?" Jack said in surprise and he and Donna were both either side of her.

"No, I'd rather not." Sarah responded almost with a look of disinterest.

"Not even if it's about you?" Donna then asked, almost seeming disappointed.

"Especially if it's about me." Sarah responded once more, keeping her disinterested look without even changing her expression.

"Well I'm saying it anyway." Jack stated folding his arms "You were late outside and we got worried so..." He started then Sarah's expression finally changed to shock.

"Oh you were waiting? I'm so sorry!" She apologized feeling a hint of guilt "I got distracted."

"We know that." Donna nodded as she started grinning again.

"You made a friend? You should have said...especially if he was enthusiastic enough to take that long to say goodbye at the gate." Jack said then he suddenly sighed "Oh our Sarah Jane has finally come out of her hard shell."

"W-wait you watched?" Sarah asked her cheeks burning "I don't see why it's anything strange..."

"Are you blushing?" Donna asked seeming to get even more curious "So, how did you meet? Is he as cute as he looks? Are you going to meet him again?" Donna was full of questions and seemed to grab Sarah by the arm as she asked them.

"Well...he did say he was going to come back to the art room tonight." She answered only one of those questions of course, she didn't want to end up in a whole explanation of every detail.

"Oh wow, so it went as well as it seemed." Jack smirked "So...like Donna asked, is he as cute as he seems?"

Sarah gave both of them a glare, despite the slight embarrassment she was still able to give them the look they needed in order to shut up, except there is one thing about Donna Noble you must bear in mind... _she doesn't shut up._

"Oh come on, it was the most adorable sight to see in this place. He seemed so excited and he kept smiling at you, so come on what happened?" She asked more persistently, Sarah managed to take her arm back before glancing towards the university gates.

"Well, we're here. Guess I have to go before I'm late." Sarah gave an obviously exaggerated sigh as she quickly walked off, of course both of her friends tried to catch her but luckily despite how she looks she is rather fast and very good at getting away from trouble.

And _they_ were trouble.

She of course ran to her classroom and sat down, making them freeze at the door and Jack mouthed the words _'you can't run forever!'_ before they walked off. Wait that reminds her what  _did_ Jack study? It seemed every time she asked he'd give a complete joke answer even with an added punchline. But at least for now she won't have to answer any more question about James or last night. She breathed for a while admitting to herself that she was rather looking forward to seeing him again, she even ended up drawing a little bit this morning in hopes that he'd like what she added to the picture. But she needed to focus on class which she will...especially if the end reward is finally getting to that art room after she memorized everything she could.

When it came to lunch, she was highly tempted to head towards the art department, maybe she'd see him there and he'd be willing to at least say hi? No, she had to go to the library...she needed to study more or everything her aunt had invested into her would be a waste. She sighed before she was suddenly surprised by a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, um...is this a bad time?" A familar soft voice spoke from behind, she turned her head and James was standing right there.

"Hey, don't have have your own thing to do?" She asked a little confused but pleasantly surprised. He shrugged.

"Well I don't tend to hang around with anyone in class during my spare time, and the most I will do is draw more so may as well go and find you." He explained then remembered something he should actually mention "And a really loud woman showed up and told me uh...'if you two are friends, then maybe you should go and spend time with her!' So I'm here."

Donna...seriously? She almost gave a slightly annoyed expression which James caught onto immediately.

"But if this is a bad time..."

"Oh no, it isn't at all!" Sarah awkwardly smiled trying to reassure him "She's just a friend of mine, I'll talk to her later about bothering you."

"Oh no! It isn't bothering me, I wanted to come anyway." He then himself started awkwardly smiling back.

"Good, I was thinking of looking for you too." She said finally giving an actual smile, still slightly nervous but he gave a nod.

"That's good, so where should we go?" He asked his eyes lighting up at the entire comment in general, she could swear his cheeks were slightly pink.

"I was going to go to the library, but if you'd like we can sit outside. After all it's actually just a half day of this for me so I can just open my textbooks when I get home." She suggested, James nodded in response before letting her lead the way. He then suddenly gave a look in concern when they stopped outside.

"You look...rather tired." He couldn't help but mention tilting his head in the most adorable way. Something about him reminded Sarah of a puppy, she couldn't always exactly get her finger on it but it was expressions like the one he had right now that made to compare the two.

"I didn't get back until late last night...I did go straight to bed but I am usually a little restless." She shrugged before sitting down on the nearby bench. James had sat down next to her, his concerned expression hadn't wavered, at least until his blue eyes widened as he began to realize something.

"I kept you back too late didn't I? I didn't know you didn't stay at the dorm." He gave an apologetic look making Sarah gave a sigh, but she couldn't help but give him a smile.

"I wouldn't get gotten to bed on time anyway, I study until rather late." She tried to reassure him that he was not exactly at fault. Sure, her habits weren't exactly considered the most healthy but to be honest she'd feel and insane amount of guilt if she didn't do a certain amount by the end of the day. He must be the first to have completely taken notice though, or maybe both Donna and Jack  _did_ but didn't want to say anything thanks to her usual avoidance of more personal habits. James placed a hand on her shoulder gently, the concern still obvious in the expression on his face.

"You know, you shouldn't exhaust yourself. Your performance may actually lower the more tired you are." He gently sighed "I know we haven't spoken for very long but, I do have this insane habit of worrying."

"Well you don't have to, I've been living on my own for a few years now."

"Doesn't mean I won't, I-I mean...since we're now friends isn't it part of my duty to worry?"

"Not at all."

"Well, I'm going to."

"Why? I told you not to worry didn't I?"

"Just because you told me dear Sarah, doesn't mean I won't."

"Sarah...?" She was almost taken aback, she didn't think she had actually been called that a long time. Usually she'd completely object when someone called her anything but 'Sarah Jane', but it was not his fault at all since of course he didn't know anything about that.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, she shook her head. She should let it go, it wasn't like it didn't feel bad being called that after such a long time...it wasn't like she was entirely  _liked_ it or anything but at least when he said it she didn't feel anything malicious. He quickly returned to whatever stern streak washed over him "Also did you even have lunch yet or...?"

"With Jack and Donna, yeah." She replied, he suddenly looked a little nervous.

"The loud woman and the flirty man...?" James asked making Sarah Jane suddenly remember...yes those two did have a habit of creating quite the impression. Enough so that poor James was definitely going to remember them, he even created a way to refer to them.

"Yes, they even show up at my doorstep every morning." She sighed, obviously she may be acting like it was rather annoying but in reality she didn't hate it at all. Donna called it her 'tsundere complex', she didn't know what the hell that meant and she wasn't going to look it up in fear of what she would find.

"You don't like them doing that...?" He asked, completely oblivious to the fact that she was kidding. James seemed to have a fine sense of humor and was even sarcastic himself but he seemed to struggle in these cases.

"Oh no, it's fine...I mean the walk up here is pretty lonely otherwise." She answered, he mouthed an 'ah' before sitting back for a moment to take a look at at the sky. To be fair time was moving strangely slow and things were strangely peaceful out here, as she thought about what to say he seemed to quickly point upward towards the sky.

"That's it...that's the color I want to get." He commented, it was a slightly gray-ish blue today thanks to the obvious rainclouds in the sky. "But I can never seem to get it the way I see it in my head."

"I know the feeling." Sarah gave a deep sigh, James then beamed towards her.

"I know you do."

* * *

 Peeking around the corner of the hall, Donna took a deep breath before entering the room. "Mr. Smith?" She asked feeling herself getting more nervous as she peeked into the classroom. She never understood why she  _must_ call him Mr.Smith, usually lecturers go by a first-name-basis. When she saw he wasn't there she couldn't help but sigh in relief, to be honest even to her the man was rather intimidating. With his rather obvious eyebrows and the hard stares he'd give whenever she was late, she couldn't help but feel like she was walking herself into hell knowing that she had to ask for help. "Oh well..." She sighed once more before leaving the room, she soon quickly froze when she found herself standing in front of a figure a little taller than herself.

"If you're lookin' for Mr.Smith he decided to shove off early." The man said with a clear northern accent "I know because I had to wander about until I bloody realized."

"Oh, well that sounds about right." Donna almost looked annoyed at the thought of the man suddenly deciding ' _wow it's only the morning and I could still have students...may as well leave and be stuck up at home instead.'_

He raised a hand before walking off, he didn't seem quite like he felt like making any form of conversation other than informing her of that. Though admittedly she had never seen him around here before, it made her wonder if the old man had other classes she didn't even know about. Jack had quickly moved himself in front of her at what felt like the speed of light before placing his hands on her shoulders "Donna, I can't find Sarah...you know where she is?"

"Oh she's fine, I just managed to convince the fancy guy to talk to her instead of having them both shyly avoid each other." Donna shrugged before following Jack, who had given his nod in approval.

"Fancy guy? Is that what we're calling him?" He asked with a slight chuckle "Wasn't he called James or something?"

"Yes, something like that." She answered as they walked back "She was only meant to be here for half the day anyway, why are you suddenly so concerned?"

Jack paused, he didn't know how much he wanted to say. He may have been reading too deeply into things or maybe he was just tired from being up all night but since about a few weeks ago he noticed that Sarah Jane had been more distant than normal, he wondered if something had happened and yet again she had chosen not to mention it like with everything else or it might be the first sign of something heavy on her mind. He decided to the best answer would be the kind to not cause Donna to start worrying too, and she was the kind to not want to start asking Sarah questions at the first chance.

"She just seems a bit stressed that's all." He answered before absentmindedly scratching the back of his head. Donna immediately took notice of the fact that he was holding back just a tiny bit...but from the expressions Jack made during that moment he was thinking she wondered if she should wait until later, or at least until Sarah was there so they could ask if she was alright instead of talking behind her back.

But knowing her, Sarah would brush it off and try and change the topic like she always had. They had been friends for almost a year and yet she wondered how much she actually knew about her, this contact with James was actually the  _first_ time she had seen her actually push someone away when they offered friendship. Heck, how she had Jack befriended her took effort and eventually convincing her to sit with them one time.

"Well, maybe we can convince her to take a break. We bug her enough." She suggested giving a weak smile before they headed towards the reception.

"Well, either way...I might seen her when I leave. I'm going to skip the afternoon class." Jack sighed with a smirk appearing on his face, Donna rolled her eyes.

"Skipping, again?" She asked as he began to open the door "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Hey, I know everything they're teaching this afternoon so I'm not going to bother." He shrugged "See you tonight, try and convince Sarah to show...maybe invite her new friend over."

"What, so you can flirt with him like with every man or woman that walks into my dorm room?" Donna asked giving him a slight glare, Jack responses with a nervous laugh.

"I was just saying hi! Why does everyone think I'm flirting!?"


	2. Chapter 2

Sarah's apartment stayed as empty as it always had when she finally decided to go home for the afternoon, of course she would return when it was time to meet James in the art room, and of course to meet up with Donna and Jack in the dorms before they close up for the night. Usually, it was just silly chatter among other things but knowing what those two may end up asking after today was a real bother. She wasn't used to talking about herself very often and especially now she had apparently somehow come out of her shell and made a connection without days of convincing. She let out a sigh, and looked into her room to see the familiar desk where the laptop sat along with the many books piled up ready for her to study. She already felt fatigued just looking in the general direction. Sure it would be fine to take a break...for most students but she couldn't allow herself to slip up like she did last night. She closed her bedroom door behind her before sitting at the desk, breathing deeply in order to keep herself together she started up the laptop.

Remembering finally getting his number earlier, and apparently he decided to throw his email and skype she was tempted to for once actually just take a break that wasn't drawing...she needed to send a skype invite either way. She immediately logged in and sent the invite, leaving a message saying who she was before thinking that now she  _definitely_ had to start. The pressure felt far worse than the stress, the stress sometimes felt far more upsetting than the pressure. She opened one of the books, as much as she loved journalism she felt truly overwhelmed by her current situation. She could say it was her own fault, she could say that if she was just a little more emotionally stable right now she could probably breeze through this.

But the longer she had to read through them, and as the hours passed the more tired she was growing by the minute. She was the top of her class, she was told that she was going to go far...so why couldn't she be satisfied?

Why did she feel the pressure to constantly be better? Why did she want to cry whenever another test was coming up?

She slammed the book closed, she was going to feel the guilt later that was for sure but she just couldn't handle it right now. And as if she was psychic, her phone called and the ID said it was her aunt. She answered "Hey you called early." She said her voice would have cracked if she let it.

"Hey, I was just checking in on you. You know, I do feel rather concerned...I keep hearing you're studying even through your breaks." The woman just got to the point, who had been telling her all this? She wondered before coming up with a decent reply.

"Oh you know...I really want to graduate with the best scores." She tried to sound calm but something about her voice was...extremely off.

"Yes, but you are getting enough sleep? You're eating well?" She asked her tone obviously seeming extremely worried, Sarah let out a sigh.

"I am, everything is the same as it always is." She answered even finding herself forcing a smile despite the fact that she couldn't see.

There was silence, it almost felt like an eternity before she spoke again.

"Was this about your uncle?" Her aunt asked which made Sarah flinch almost immediately.

"This has nothing to do with him."

"I know he put a lot of pressure on you, but know that everything that he said is not what I feel at all. You're doing enough, more than enough."

"I told you it's fine! You're worrying over nothing!"

"You say that, but you always sound so unsure."

"I  _am_ sure!" Sarah responded already feeling drained by the memories that had risen "I'm sorry but I have to go, I love you." She said before hanging up as quickly as she could. And then the guilt returned, she just hung up on her aunt and not helping her case at all. She immediately sent an apology message before her skype started making noises.

James hadn't returned, but Donna had and was immediately reminding her of coming over tonight. She then suggested to 'bring James', and that she would know if she chickened out. Giving a slight whine she answered that she would ask, but she wasn't going to make him show.

She seemed satisfied with that.

Getting up off her chair she guessed she should eat but before then her phone rang once more.

She almost dropped her phone when she saw who was calling.

He was a distant uncle, she hadn't spoken to him often in a few years. Sometimes he would call to only make her feel worse after a long day...heck living with him those four years when her aunt had to leave was enough of a nightmare. Her hands shook as she answered with a weak "H-hello...?"

"Sarah Jane? You know...I haven't heard from you in a while, don't you ever call?" He asked right away in that same intimidating tone that only made the situation more frightening. If she didn't answer, he would show up and if he showed up he would judge every decision and every action she had made while he was there, reminding her of her failures then tell her what the hell she was doing on that chat thing on the computer? She should be studying! Does she want to  _actually_ be successful? Oh wait, she was already a failure...she was just like her parents.

"Sorry...I've been rather busy." She answered, she heard an irritated sigh on the other end.

"Busy doing what? Talking with those strange friends of yours? If you can fool around with them you can give a call to the man who took care of you for four years." He was already scolding her like a child, she felt her body go tense "You know what? I think I need to make sure you don't end up like your father...you see despite everything I want to make sure you're successful. I'm going to happen to be in the area at the end of this month and I am going to pay a visit." He explained which made Sarah's eyes widen.

Suddenly, she felt  _very_ dizzy.

"O-oh...I see." She weakly spoke leaning against the wall "And I'm sure my father was rather successful...Aunt-:"

"Yes but she means in the silly sense, he gave up so much just to marry his wife you know? I do care about you. Why don't you show some appreciation instead of trying to correct me. Anyway, I'll be off, I expect you'll be prepared for me to see you." He immediately left as quickly as he called.

She almost collapsed on the couch in the living room and it took every sense not to start screaming, she couldn't breath or even think only try and get a hold of herself before she had to leave.

In fact she wanted to leave, she didn't want to stay with this new level of stress taking over.

She quickly got ready and left the apartment, she would simply turn up early...that was it. It was nothing suspicious and she was desperate for the fresh air either way. The walk even began to seem longer than normal, her mouth was dry and she couldn't quite stop shaking the whole time. One part of her mind kept reminding her to study over and over and that she  _had_ to be good enough otherwise everything will fall apart again. The other half just wanted her to escape, running didn't sound so bad...heck who needs to stay and suffer from this constant anxiety anyway? She found herself at the gate and headed to the only place where she had something good to look forward to...the art department.

Classes were still going, in fact the room wasn't empty at all like she should have expected but James spotted her the second he looked up, he gave a bright smile before being spotted by an angry lecturer who made him look back at his canvas. He glanced back at her once more, that small smile still on his face.

After hiding for a while, class suddenly ended and James had already begun searching for her. She came out of hiding and he gave her that bright smile once more.

"You're quite early." He mentioned making her finally crack a small smile, there was just something about him that made her feel far less stressed.

"Yeah..." She said weakly, the harsh shaking from earlier was now just light but apparently was obvious enough for James to noticed her hands.

"You alright?" He asked his blue eyes shining with worry as he gently placed his hands over her shaking ones "You don't seem...quite right." He then added.

The warmth was comforting enough, in fact the uncontrollable shaking calmed down but it didn't seem he was willing to let it go. He gently used his thumb to rub her hand, she didn't even answer...she was just staring in response.

"Oh, I don't know." She answered looking down and breaking the eye contact they apparently had for that long moment, she still seemed extremely nervous in his eyes and he quickly cupped her cheek with his hand, making her look back up towards him.

"We should go somewhere quiet, sit down...we can talk." He gently spoke in that soft, kind voice. With a gentle nod, he began to lead her by the hand...how awkward can things get right now? People were now watching them hand-in-hand as they left. Sure it was childish but that was mostly because the people around them were and she already had to listen to people talk about how much of a robot she seemed to be with how much she was seen studying.

Maybe the shyness has increased also because of how bad she was feeling right now, she was noticing when people looked at her ten times more than usual and she wondered if she was actually walking slower. James seemed to squeeze her hand every time a slight shake would come through, almost as if he was trying to silently comfort before they could find somewhere safe.

And he did, he found an empty area near the building outside. He sat them down on the grass without once letting go of her hand "Now, what's wrong...you look like you just had everything crash down on you." He asked, holding her hand tightly as though she may just run off if he let go.

And to be perfectly honest, she probably would have. She always hated seeming this way for too long, but now she was just too overwhelmed to keep up her usual mask of full-confidence. Despite the long silence he didn't speak, in fact...he seemed to be waiting. It was like he had a high level of patience for a situation like this despite the fact he had mentioned to her in passing that he was rather bad at holding focus. She breathed before she decided that she must say  _something_ even if she didn't go into detail.

"I just...have a lot going on at the end of this month." She sighed before giving him her weakest smile yet "I'll be able to handle it, I promise." She then added but the man's concern didn't once face from his eyes and his expression was now of a questioning look.

"Are you sure? I may not be good for much but at least I can listen you know." He gently said before pulling her into a warm look "You look like you're going to start crying, so whatever this is must be quite distressing."

He wasn't wrong at all, it  _was_ distressing and no amount of time could actually prepare her for what she had to face. But she couldn't exactly start unloading onto him when they haven't been friends for too long. James almost seemed generous, too generous for someone like her...he was even hugging her so tightly like he was  _trying_ to convince her to unload if she wanted, even lean on him if she must. She found an odd comfort from him in general, she ended up hugging him back to which he responded by ever so gently rubbing her back.

It was almost difficult to prevent herself from crying.

"No, it's alright...but I'm thankful." She quietly spoke after taking a moment "I'm thankful that you're there, that you're here during my freak out."

"It's no problem at all." He responded almost brightly, he pulled away giving her that bright smile he seemed to have...within a moment of madness he seemed to increase in a sudden burst of energy "Ah! We should start drawing back in the art room! I promise I won't keep you as long this time...if you're alright to move."

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I could use a way to relieve stress." She smiled as he stood back up, he helped her stand back up before dragging her away. It was almost like these bursts of energy were extremely random and may end in her being brought here there and everywhere. Although he did seem to move slower than normal, was he still worried she was struggling?

She couldn't help but notice how tightly he was still holding her hand, though "Wait!" She said as she suddenly remembered the invitation she was supposed to give him, James went to a stop his eyes filling with worry again.

"What's wrong? Are we moving too fast? Do you need anything?" He started asking almost urgently, she shook her head although she did appreciate the concern.

"Not quite, I was asked by a friend to invite you to spend some time with us after we're done. I mean, you don't  _have_ to come...but would you like to?" She asked feeling a little guilty over what she could be dragging him into.

"I'd love to." He responded very quickly to the question, it was like he didn't even need to think about it. She honestly felt a little relieved that he agreed...she loved spending time with those two but it was almost nice that she could ask him to join.

"Good." She smiled, at least she could forget about what's to come a little bit longer.


	3. Chapter 3

His smile was as bright as it always had been, he took interest in everything she was drawing and even went ahead and explained some of his own work when she asked. What happened earlier was all but forgotten for a little while, her hands had stopped shaking and her breathing was no longer labored. In fact she almost forgot she had to leave until James pointed it out, his sense of time was just about  _perfect_ and it always surprised her that he seemed to mention that they needed to leave at the exact time they were supposed to. "So Donna's room is this way right?" He asked for confirmation as they walked through the halls. She gave a light nod, still not entirely talkative as she was yesterday however he didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that he was starting most of the topics and even talking through the silence. There was a glimmer of understanding always in his eyes and he was still ever as gentle as he was, keeping his voice soft and soothing, even placing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer when someone passed. She couldn't help but crack smiles at his bad jokes and even as they were headed to her friend's dorm room he seemed to be even rather interested in the people around her.

He opened the door, grabbing her hand as though he didn't want her to get left behind of lost. Those two were already there as usual and they seemed rather fascinated with the fact he was holding onto her even when he closed the door behind them.

"Oh hey! Nice to see you decided to come." Donna smiled seeming _strangely_ polite. Probably because they wanted to get to know the man that was holding her hand right this second. He only let go when they were offered a seat...even then he was rather close and keeping a close eye on her after earlier. Jack hadn't spoken yet, he was observing almost like he was making mental notes of their every interaction, Donna sit down looking ever so curious about the man that had been quite the topic for a little while, and to be fair with good reason. "So, how are you two?" She asked seeming to suddenly look worried at Sarah's whole new kind of silence. Jack was right, something has been...off lately.

James caught on straight away and decided to speak up "Oh, we've been fine." He responded obviously trying to be bright enough to cover up her current situation. Deciding not to let all of this bother her too much, she knew she should try to speak...James had been ever so kind but she didn't want more than one person fussing greatly over her.

"Yeah, it's a rather uneventful day so we actually managed to finish quite a lot of artwork." She spoke almost as if it was a breeze, but at the moment honestly she didn't feel completely up to it. Every word took more effort than normal, and every way she needed to  _sound_ alright simply took up even more of the energy she lost from earlier.

"You sure? You know we're behind closed doors. Nothing can get out." Jack suddenly spoke "We've been concerned, you seemed to be under quite of a bit of pressure."

Jack was quite correct, but she didn't like the thought of starting this evening out with more bad news. She knew the only way she could really recover is if the situation was relaxing and she could forget what was to come further. James' eyes narrowed, the he suddenly seemed to place a hand on her shoulder before suddenly making a change to the topic "So enough about us, what about you? O hear you're Sarah's good friends."

"Oh yeah, it took week to get her to flippin' talk to us though." Donna sighed thinking way back "She would make sure all the answers to any questions we asked ended in a dead end when it comes to conversation, say how busy she is when you offered her to go out with you, and then she'd give this  _dead_ serious look..." Donna began rambling, oh yes Sarah does remember back then...she was actually a lot different and even more distant before Donna and Jack somehow began to sneak their way into her life.

"And then you both caught me locked behind the university gate, and you both helped me despite how cold I was." She gently said with a slight smile "I am still thankful for that."

"It's luckily you're quite small though, I don't think I could have made a bigger gap..." Jack smirked "And not long after you thanked us and then you finally ate lunch with us."

"And now we have the tsundere of the group." Donna commented, making Sarah raise her eyebrow "She even said 'I only happened to have what you needed' once." She almost gave out a laugh, James then suddenly looked rather confused.

"What's a...tsundere?" He asked Sarah making her turn her face away in slight embarrassment.

"It's nothing important." She nervously responded hoping that he doesn't go googling it anytime soon. It shouldn't bother her, but the comparison for some reason made her let out a long sigh "It's not like it's actually true."

"You  _liar."_ Jack smirked, oh no...here comes the teasing "You know it's true! It has to be!"

"Come on, can you not tease me right now?" Sarah pleaded, James blinked widely.

"I am ever so confused..." He then commented, still blinking.

"Alright, alright...you're adorable when you're embarrassed though." Jack then gave her a slight wink, he had to be slightly flirty whenever he ended a comment and it wasn't a comment made by Jack otherwise "Now James, I never got the chance to say hello, so  _hello."_

"Jack, don't flirt with him." Sarah sighed, leaning back in her seat from the slight fatigue that was properly setting in.

"I'm not flirting! I was just saying hello!" Jack seemed almost offended, but these days you couldn't even tell the difference anymore and it was very 'Jack' to hit on the new person.

When he hit on Sarah, however. He barely escaped without being rather quickly kicked, it was fairly obvious that she most definitely wasn't interested, Donna however would jokingly flirt with him and only encourage his behavior further.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Jack." James said almost perfectly innocently despite what was being said around him, nobody could tell if he was purposely trying to pretend Jack didn't say hello in such a way or it and the conversation completely flew right over his head.

"Nice to meet you, James." Jack grinned almost with a slight sparkle of mischief in his eyes "You seeing anyone or...?"

"Now you're not even hiding it!" Sarah snapped finally seeming to get a burst of energy enough to glare at him, Jack gave a nervous laugh repeating the words 'I'm kidding! I'm kidding!' over and over as though he didn't want to unlock her wrath. James' cheeks burned however over the entire comment.

"Well..." He started "I'm not if that term means what I think it means." He then answered before giving a light shrug "But I'm definitely not interested in a man I just barely know."

Donna almost spat out her drink, he got rejected yet again it seems...

"Oh well, don't want to unlock the tsundere wrath by asking  _you_ out anyway." Jack relaxed his grin growing bigger as he saw Sarah's rather hard stare growing and growing as time went on "Anyway, Donna you have been strange quiet."

"I just don't want to stop the entertaining moment, that's all." Donna responded causing Sarah to fume a little more "They're already holding hands, I think you lost your chance anyway."

Sarah almost gasped at the comment, okay now she was the blushing one in the room but for an entirely different reason than they would assume. She couldn't exactly say it was because she was on the verge of an anxiety attack, she couldn't say that James had been holding her up literally almost the rest of the afternoon thanks to an unwelcome uncle coming over at the end of the month...and she was highly unlikely to want to explain any of it in the first place.

So she had to question, is what they believe is happening better than the truth? Or should she be honest for once about her own mental condition? She had already been worrying Jack and Donna from the beginning, and she didn't want to suddenly throw every single problem she had been having these past few months at them. James gave her a knowing glance, he was probably just going to over for her again if she didn't have a response...

No, she wasn't going to let him save her from every incident today.

"I guess that's another failed attempt at hitting on a new friend to add to the list, then." Sarah said almost a little too calmly, in fact James looked rather surprised as he was currently seeing something completely different to the others thanks to earlier. She wondered how long she could keep this up, but at least...she wanted to isolate knowledge of this afternoon to James.

"What number is this?" Donna asked as she had gotten out a white notebook, Jack's eyes widened.

"W-wait, you've both been keeping count?" He asked before trying to sneak a look at one of the pages Donna had opened to, she quickly snatched it away.

"Well to be fair, you will probably hold the record. You need to stop this habit Jack, you should wait at least one sentence in it to try flirting next time." Donna responded "Of course, I don't mind if you practice on me."

"Oh..." Jack said still trying to peek at the book, it seemed to be really irritating him that he couldn't know exactly what number he got in the end. Honestly, Sarah had lost count of the amount of awkward encounters they had all thanks to Jack Harkness. They were even thrown out of somewhere once because he said  _exactly_ the wrong comment at the wrong time.

Jack can be charming, he just had bad timing.

James had begun to lean in while Jack and Donna had begun their bickering over the notebook, he gently whispered in Sarah's ear "Are you holding up?" While softly placing a hand on hers, her eyes stared at the floor, as much as she wanted to spend time here today had been enough to bother her. She then looked into those bright blue eyes of his with her first honest response all day.

"I guess, but I'm really...tired." She whispered back, he gave a light nod in understanding before looking towards the other two.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to walk Sarah home and still have time to return to the dorms...so may I?" James asked ever so politely making Donna and Jack freeze. If they could sparkle with those smiles they would.

"Oh, of course...as if we'd stop that~" Donna responded first, Sarah could swear she saw an evil aura start rising.

"Walking her home already huh?" Jack asked "Can we trust our Sarah Jane in the hands of a strange artist?" He then asked almost looking like a protective father.

"Jack, she'll be fine...if anything happened she'd break someone's leg." Donna then reminded him which made Jack relax.

"Oh yeah...she can do that." He sighed "I'm tired today anyway, and I'm not allowed off campus anymore after last week's incident."

"You were banned from somewhere else? Go you." Sarah narrowed her eyes.

"It was a misunderstanding!" Jack argued back before Donna cleared her throat, reminding him that of course...they had to leave.

James had quickly moved Sarah out of the room and outside, she wasn't expecting someone to be this understanding of the meaning of the word 'tired'...and the fact that she meant emotionally along with physically. He seemed to gently keep her close in the dark, even walking all the way to her rather close apartment at the bottom of the hill. he kept asking if she was going to be alright, if she needed anything and if he should stay a little longer. She told him that as long as she could get some rest she would be alright and eventually convinced him to leave her when she was standing in the door. The walk up the stairs was silent, her neighbors were probably already settling down considering how late it was. Turning the lights on she saw her rather empty...and cold apartment.

She wondered if she should turn the TV she never used on, or if she should get right back to studying before she slipped and her uncle would remind her of how little she seemed to care for the money that was invested in her. Her aunt never hurt her, she was loving and kind but her uncle...always seemed rather angry and bitter at her for some reason. It always ended in her either fighting back tears or feeling rather worthless after he had done talking to her. She was usually rather strong and independent but when the past began to haunt her she almost would completely lose all her strength and feel the weight of the world on her shoulders.

She ended up sitting on the sofa in silence for a while, just letting it all sink in...but as soon as she felt her hands begin to shake once more she realized that she had to stop before things got too difficult to handle. She didn't have James to give reassuring words all the time and most certainly he wasn't going to remain in her life forever. She didn't expect Jack or Donna to stay as close with her as they were now after they graduate and especially when they start doing their own thing. Everything this good is temporary, it had to be but a part of her truly wished that it wouldn't be the case. She breathed deeply in order to try and keep a hold of herself, she had to be stable enough to study...if she doesn't study everything will be worthless and she'll be left feeling like garbage again.

She didn't even see the clock when she started looking through her sketchbook to ease the ache.

Soon there was a knock on her door, it was late, 11pm according to the clock when she finally looked. Sarah never got visitors, and the gates would be closed up by now so it wasn't like it was going to be Jack and Donna that was for sure. She was hesitant at first, what if it was someone with bad intentions? She was prepared to defend herself by the time she slowly unlocked the door and only opening it by a crack.

It was James, looking rather rough and at that rather sheepish "What are you doing here?" She asked quietly and he gave a nervous laugh.

"Well you see...I got a little distracted." He began to explain nervously scratching the back of his head "And I ended up drawing something I saw, and well...got locked out."

Sarah rolled her eyes but couldn't help but chuckle at his explanation. He glanced away nervously before giving an apologetic look "And nobody was there to let you in?"

"No, and as you can see I don't particularly have anywhere else to go. I-if it makes you uncomfortable you can ask me to leave but it's far better than standing out in pitch-black where I can be mugged or killed." He quickly spoke as though he really was ashamed of what happened "I'm  _really_ sorry...I just get really easily distracted."

Sarah considered it for a moment before finally answering "Alright, but if you try anything I have a rather useful bat in my bedroom." She sighed letting him in, he nervously entered her home before she closed the door, re-locking it she did notice that he was probably waiting for her approval.

Something in her gut did say that he was the more unlikely one to bring harm.

"Well, I never thought you couldn't defend yourself. Don't worry though, I wouldn't hurt you." He smiled almost feeling the tiniest bit secure in this place, after all he lived in a far colder dorm room without any means of self-defense, in fact he thought he'd feel perfectly safe as long as he knew Sarah could use that bat to fend off intruders.

"I'd hope not." She said as the tiredness in her voice suddenly started to show "I should really get you a blanket then I'll start studying." She then added before heading towards a cupboard nearby, offering him the blanket she suddenly became aware of the most concerned expression he had shown all day.

"Weren't you studying earlier today? It's rather late." He asked as he took the blanket from her hands.

"Mm, but I have to do some more before bed." She responded her eyes suddenly feeling rather heavy, this was completely normal to her though as she had studied through all kinds of tired just so she could reach her goals. James however tilted his head his eyes glimmering with the worry that started pouring out.

"But won't you get too tired? Have you eaten yet?" He began asking his voice starting to shake as he moved closer to her "You should really rest, lie down...maybe even curl up with a book until you drop off. You've worked hard enough don't you think?"

Sarah was unable to answer at first, she was cornered and someone was questioning her with that look she thought she'd never see up-close. She almost teared-up but managed to hold it all back just for this moment.

"I-I...um." She was stumbling to find the words.

"Go to bed, while I'm here you're not overworking yourself." He stated quite sternly, she was almost expecting a lecture on taking care of herself at this rate "Please, I won't allow anything else."

Giving up she sighed "Alright...just tonight." She then said before heading to her room, James gave a nod seeming satisfied, just to be sure she wanted to make sure he definitely could trust what she was saying "I promise."

"Good." He smiled before she left, he sighed at the couch before him...looks like this was where he was spending the night.

* * *

 

_"So, you're just sleeping is that it? Don't you know how much we invested into you? If you're just going to repeat the actions of your father you may as well give up!"_

_"How can you spend this time not studying? Do you want to fail? Do you want to be completely worthless? Forget it...you're already disappointing me."_

_"Your aunt is far too soft...someone who is truly successful wouldn't be playing some stupid game."_

_"I can't believe I am wasting my time with you..."_

* * *

 

Sarah suddenly woke up breathing heavily, all those words swirling in her dreams were merely tame compared to everything else...but that was just the start. Over the month she would re-live every event in her sleep until meeting him face-to-face was almost unbearable. She sat up hugging her pillow, that burning feeling in her eyes had finally started to rise. She couldn't be crying already right? Usually it took far longer than that for her to break down like this but here she was, hiding her face into the pillow to muffle her cries over something that was probably so  _pathetic_. Everything was just so overwhelming, it was slowly becoming far more than she could even take right now.

She had forgotten James was right in the other room...and she heard someone stirring.

In fear she didn't look up as she felt her bedroom door open, now everything was revealed already and she didn't even get the chance to establish that this wasn't all she was, she wasn't all 100% depression and anxiety and she especially didn't cry very much at all until she got such news as she did earlier. Before she could even find a way to react, she felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her and the feeling of a gentle rub on her arm. It was tight and yet so very gentle at the same time, he rested his head on top of hers as he began to speak words of comfort "Shh, you'll be alright. It was just a dream, it's all over." James whispered as he pulled her onto his lap "Just breathe, focus on me...you're not there anymore."

The tears began to stop as he somehow managed to pull her back from whatever level of despair she was stuck in, just enough to realize the reality around her. Never before did she really have the chance to be comforted like this...usually she'd make sure nobody would notice when she was struggling this badly but it seemed around James everything came out so quickly and easily. It didn't help that she had forgotten that he could have been listening earlier when she was struggling to hide her strained tears.

Even when she had calmed down enough, James still kept a tight hold of her. She could easily just fall back asleep right now like this, and it was a strangely intimate response considering. He never asked too many questions, he didn't force the information out of her he simply listened and did what he could to make everything easier.

"Sarah?" He asked gently to which she responded with a light 'hm?' "Do you want to talk about it?"

She found herself clinging to his shirt at that question, she had never needed to speak about it at least until she found herself this overwhelmed. She felt his hand gently pet her head as he whispered 'take your time' a few times over almost like he was trying to make sure no pressure came to her, absentmindedly she leaned beck into his chest...normally someone wouldn't simply walk into someone's room so she did have to wonder...

Was she loud when she had those nightmares?

It was embarrassing but right now it made her wonder if it was a gift. Despite it being late hours and he was probably tired he decided to check on her, nonetheless she had to figure out if she was going to start talking about her problems are not.

...It seemed that her emotions weren't giving her much of a choice.

"I'm suffering from a lot of pressure, and I have an unwelcome visitor at the end of the month." She began talking almost a little too quietly "If I don't seem like the perfect student then everything quite frankly is going to collapse. He's already irritated enough with me, if I don't study enough then he may cause problems for my aunt. I haven't been sleeping well at all lately since I haven't had to deal with him first hand since I was a child." She explained unable to keep completely focus on anything.

"But...I'll be fine." She then said in a lighter tone, pulling away to show one of the best smiles she could "I'm sorry you had to deal with this."

"You talk as though talking about your feelings is a burden." He commented in a lower tone "Don't be sorry for anything, I asked." He then added gently stroking her head "How about you have a chance to feel as down as you need to and I'll make you some sweet tea. We can stay up as long as you need to."

"But shouldn't you sleep?" She asked, he shook his head"I can survive, I've pulled all-nighters when I played this game for three days." He confessed feeling a little be ashamed of that incident "Besides, it'll be worth it tomorrow when you feel more at ease."

"You play games?" Sarah asked rather surprised, well he sure didn't  _look_ like someone who would play a video game but he definitely seemed like the type to be so distracted by it he wouldn't sleep. Heck, he got distracted enough to get locked out.

"Only on occasion, and only things with puzzles." He responded "I needed to get through this one water temple...and I was  _absolutely_ frustrated. I was determined to get it right."

"Oh dear...I think Jack may have mentioned that game if I am correct." Sarah gave a small chuckle and cracked a smile which seemed to make James' eyes light up instantly in the darkness.

"Well I managed, and I slept for the longest length of time I ever had." he continued, he was hoping that keep that smile going...keep her laughing "Then I was stuck with this question, how do Gorons reproduce? It seems they are all male." He then added giving an expression of confusion.

She gave another light chuckle before leaning back into him, he suddenly got this strange feeling of satisfaction from the fact she was doing it not just out of sadness, but because even when she had calmed down she simply  _wanted_ to. His eyes glistened if only for a moment before taking a deep breath...it was worth getting locked out that was for sure.

He was fine like this, even if he was the only one talking...he somehow enjoyed being able to be comforting in this way. He began to chatter on a little more, he began to be surprised at how much he could simply ramble about.

And how much he could make her laugh by doings so.

She seemed to get drowsy near the end, and even began falling asleep, he began to gently move her under the covers. He had to make sure she was safe right? And the most important that she began to feel safe. Once he had stood up she seemed to let out a groan and tug on his shirt before he could leave her.

"I'm not asleep..." She tiredly said in denial of her own drowsiness "I want to keep talking."

"But you're exhausted." He said with a gentle smile as he kneeled down beside the bed "And I'll be in the other room if you need me."

"Truthfully, I enjoyed tonight a little too much. Staying awake seems far more appealing." She then said in a light tone as she started dropping off.

"We have tomorrow, I'll still be here." He said placing a hand on her cheek "Just get some rest, alright?"

"Fine, fine..." She sighed "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He said before leaving her room and back to the couch.

James hadn't felt needed in a very long time, it was odd having a place with someone after this many years. He honestly would love to speak to her further, just talk the night away and feel like he meant something beyond the strange artist who seemed too easily distracted for his own good. He lay down and found himself staring the ceiling, it would be morning soon and he would most definitely be exhausted.

But it was completely worth it. 


	4. Chapter 4

The area in which Sarah lived was actually a rather small town despite how prestigious the University was. Usually, the students came from out of town all the way down here by train, and today was one of those days where the noise and clutter had lowered to a point where nobody would see James wandering around in the middle of the night anyway nevermind the morning. Delivering him back his dorm room was tricky enough, especially when he was giving a concerned lecture.

With some persistence, he convinced her to take a day off. Using the reason that she was way ahead of schedule along with the fact that there are practically no classes today anyway. She wasn't used to free time any more, especially since everyone else who lived in the area was busy.

She had never taken the chance to learn much about her area, sure it was a beautiful town. It was by the sea and rather far from the city she was familiar with living in. Honestly, the scenery wouldn't have mattered either way as long as her uncle couldn't reach her so easily.

Of course, there was the issue of the end of this month...but she didn't want to throw more pressure on herself today than it was worth. She never thought she'd hear herself think that but after her little breakdown last night, it was probably for the best. It didn't help that her new friend was also extremely worried about her health, she was sure that if he didn't have anything to do today himself he might have hung around to even make sure she ate enough meals per day.

It was annoying, yet at the same time it had been so long since someone was like that with her. She never told Jack or Donna anything, she couldn't blame them for not knowing about her mental state but she did somehow feel a little less tense knowing that she could throw the act out of the window for once.

It was unusually sunny, in fact she found herself sitting on a bench near the sea...mostly because she was desperate for the fresh air and she knew if she didn't stay distracted, she'd end up going crazy or studying to the point of exhaustion.

"Not in class?" A voice spoke from behind, one thing she hated about such a small close-knit town...everyone would recognize her since she moved here. She turned her head to see the woman who worked at the local shop. What was even her name? Rose was it? She tried to give a friendly smile, but truthfully she didn't want to go ahead explaining why she was skipping out now of all times.

"No, I had a few personal things to sort out today. I'm just taking a break." She answered wishing that perhaps, she should have taken her sketchbook at least. If she looked busy then at least nobody would ask. She hated seeming passive and dismissive, or like she was escaping social interaction but yesterday took a lot out of her.

Even walking here she was still a little shaky, but the lack of pressure made it easier to recover.

"Yeah, well stay safe! I saw some weird man wandering around last night." She called out as she walked away, strange man...probably James.

She sighed and almost have a laugh at that image, now people will think there was someone dangerous wandering about when in reality it was a forgetful art student who got locked outside of his dorm room.

It was for the best she didn't mention it for his sake, it was probably humiliating enough.

Leaning back she couldn't help but think, she hadn't visited her aunt in over a year now and mostly because of family issues. She didn't want to back to Croydon where she could run into more trouble than it was worth, especially since other than her aunt she had no reason currently to return. Sure, she'd visit Sarah on the rare occasion but that was mostly thanks to travelling.

Still, not being home in this long...it was rather strange, like a past memory and this seemed more like home now.

She stood up, she couldn't exactly stay here all day when she had a few errands she had to get done here and there. Speaking on local shop lady, she still had some groceries to get, she had to try and get the town's local newspaper to give her a part-time job for experience and...

Well, she just had more to do than she expected for a day off, but at least without worrying about studying until a little later she could get them done.

Walking the short distance to the local newspaper, she already noticed more than ever how many people seemed to recognize her more than she recognized them, she guessed that they had heard of her from Jack and Donna, but she was usually too caught up in school to even notice that they did. When she tried to enter the door was locked, she eventually noticed the handwritten sign on the door saying  _"New story, will be back in few hours."_ this town was so small that she didn't have many journalists on the case, apparently.

Well that was one thing moved down the list, she guessed she should do the far more boring things first. To the shop she has to go, it seems.

It was as boring as she thought when she started, sure it was empty and she didn't get into anyone's way by taking her time, she left as quickly as possible actually before heading towards her apartment. Immediately almost like someone out there has decided that she shouldn't be too alone anymore, she accidentally bumped into the taller woman again. Rose quickly recognized Sarah and have a small wave.

"Sorry." Sarah gave an awkward smile "I'm pretty spaced-out today."

"It's fine, in this place it can be hard not to be spaced-out when it gets quiet." Rose returned her smile with a more confident one, she definitely worked here...she knew it the Tylers had owned this store for a while however she never really spoke to any of them on a personal basis. She also never spoke to anyone else other than Jack, Donna and now James on a personal basis but that was fairly obvious already.

"I have seen you around, but I've never seen you speak to anyone." Rose admitted "I hear a lot about you from Jack, but that's it." She explained feeling a little bit curious about who was probably the newest person in this town. Only being here for a year or so does that...especially in a place as uneventful as this.

"You're friends with Jack, I assume?" Sarah asked almost giving a rather serious expression, Jack is friends with every man, woman and anything in between and has held the record of flirting with them all at least once.

"Oh yes, he's a good friend of mine. Known him since secondary school." Rose replied before giving a shrug "Donna as well, if you were here a long time everyone recognizes and knows you." She then mentioned, of course Sarah was still a figure of curiosity for the town already. Someone who didn't exactly speak very often, a high-leveled student living in a fancy apartment near the University...rumours do move about rather fast. A part of her wanted to clear some of them up, even some of the crazier ones that have started spurring...but most of them should fade if Sarah ended up talking to people more often.

They really needed something more interesting to happen here, in fact Rose was rather jaded in this place.

"Oh yes...small town, everyone knows everyone." Sarah commented before suddenly remembering she had to leave, she would probably just glance at her notes even if she didn't go full-out studying for another two hours. She couldn't help but want to make sure she was best she could be to reduce the painful visit at the end of the month "I have to go, but I'll probably see you again." She began to rush off, she heard a goodbye but she was out the door as quickly as she entered earlier.

Today was rather delightfully boring though, she hadn't really been able to feel like time was moving this slow in a long time. When she got home, the first thing in her head wasn't exactly how large and empty the apartment was, but she was more focused on putting things away, glancing at her notes then drawing a little while.

Was this what she was supposed to feel like on days like this? She was mostly settled until the door rang.

When she put down her sketchbook and peeked outside, she saw a familiar bright smile greeting her. James held up a bag immediately "I brought lunch." he gently spoke "I wanted to see how you were doing."

Sarah couldn't help but smile at the gentle man before her, he may seem easily distracted and bouncy but in the end...she never met someone who cared so much.

Honestly, she felt bad and made a mental note to try and repay him for everything...for last night, for watching out for her. Surely, if he can take some of her baggage than she can help carry some of his.

"I'm fine, you didn't have to come all the way down here..." She replied honestly feeling a tiny bit embarrassed. She stepped aside, allowing him to enter her home. He was already spending a lot of time here, it had already become somewhat natural for him to be around.

"Well, I wanted to be sure. After yesterday, I thought you could use a friend." He softly spoke as she closed the door behind them "Besides, I'll only be alone anyway...plus there is the fact that your friends are wondering where you are. They said you texted them not to walk with you this morning and since they haven't seen you around they were concerned enough to chase me down again." He then explained.

"Thank you." She gave him a smile "I'll apologize to them later. I should have really said something." She then remembered one little thing she needed to ask, there was a chance he was spotted after all after what Rose said about last night "Someone mentioned today that people have seen someone strange wandering around last night, you might have been caught."

James' eyes seemed to widen "W-what?" He stuttered "I didn't wander  _that_ far, I couldn't have caught anyone's attention that late unless..." He then stopped and let out an irritated sigh. He immediately realized who it was from what she could tell "That old woman seems to have everything against me."

"Old woman?" Sarah asked as she seemed to take a box out of the bag, he gave a light nod.

"Well you see, a few people here don't exactly  _approve_ of the reason why I came." He began "Let's just say when I was in my mid-teens I ran away from home. I kept running until I came here, somehow managed to miraculously not get kidnapped or murdered and managed to build a life here. People accepted me since I was honest and not some delinquent teenager but a few folk seem highly suspicious of my reasons."

"What were your reasons? If it's okay to ask." Sarah wondered, he took a deep breath. It seemed they were opening it rather easily with how relaxed he was about this, but like she thought earlier there was simply something about him that made it easy.

"I suffered a rather detestable home life, so I ran." He simply stated, he seemed like he wasn't entirely prepared for detail but it was fine...at least he was as honest as he could be in the situation. Obviously, there was more the story but it wasn't like she wanted to push him to talk about a situation he wasn't ready to.

"I'm sorry." Sarah breathed, he shook his head gently.

"Don't worry, it's the past. Look at what I have now, I say I've done rather well for a runaway kid." He began to yawn at the end of his sentence, he really didn't get much sleep then...she couldn't help but feel a little guilty considering he was the reason why he stayed awake. She hadn't slept much herself, but determination seemed to keep her as wide awake as she could be.

Sarah had sat back down with James joining her, now he was probably going to get her to eat and then return to class as normal. She couldn't help but feel like he should of at least stayed off too considering how little sleep he got...

But either way, the company was making this apartment far more livelier than it normally is.

* * *

 

Jack looked at the time before letting out a grin, usually he'd be in class but again this was something he had already learned and mastered. Sarah Jane would worry about not showing up, but he was willing to skip a few classes every now and again when he was sure he could pass.

And Jack definitely did pass.

In fact he often passed well enough to anger the students who came every day with a lower score while Jack only came in for the required amount of hours and yet still somehow was one of the top of his class. It wasn't like he boasted or shown off the fact that he did, but just reading his name on the top test scores was enough to send blood boiling.

Either way, he didn't enjoy the company he got. he'd much rather meet up with either Donna, or when she was busy all the people he managed to charm enough to talk to. Before long while wandering around he had caught onto whatever rumor this was of a strange man wandering around at night and decided to approach the one person who could gather information for him.

He entered that local shop that he had a tendency to hang around in when he needed something, particularly from the girl there who immediately spotted him. That long coat was incredibly hard to miss and Jack always made quite the presence no matter where he was or what he was doing.

"Rose Tyler, I've been hearing things I want to know where it came from." He announced loudly, and not like he was even trying to hide his intentions "I told you to keep that old lady's mouth shut...I already had to try and bounce off the one about some other kid years ago."

"It's harder than it looks!" Rose called back hastily heading straight towards him "Things spread here like a wildfire here I didn't even get the time to calm it down."

"Look, it's either about that same kid or me. But I am curious about that kid, you know who he was and what he's doing now?" Jack asked seeming fairly irritated as it was, of course Jack had things to hide...everyone here did it was just he had a lot more to lose by doing so.

"It was probably about him not you, I checked the description...nothing about a man in a long coat." She tried to reassure him "The only person who saw it was that crazy old hag, near the apartments close to the university. It's hard to mistaken it for you, you decided to stay at the dorm for whatever reason and it's locked up by then."

"Wait, he was close to the apartments?" Jack asked seeming more urgent "That's where Sarah Jane lives and I can't have some weirdo wandering around there. She seemed shaken up enough yesterday." He stated beginning to walk out "Please look into who was there!" He said shouted back from outside the door, Rose let out a sigh.

"Thank you Rose, for making sure nobody is branded a criminal." She murmured to herself as she got back to stacking the shelves, either way Jack usually isn't this urgent or rushed so she had to wonder what he had been doing in the past to make him so paranoid.

Either way, looks like she's going to be doing some digging tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

The evening was quiet, and almost peaceful, James had long since left and she had managed to study with far less pressure than she was usually used to. She had actually found time to continue her hobbies and keep at a level-head. A rather sudden, hard knock at her door however took her by surprise. Now James definitely went back, she made sure he didn't get locked out this time...She got up and opened it to see Jack with fire in his eyes.

He was almost more worried than she ever thought she'd see Jack be.

"James was here, all night correct?" He asked with breathing heavily, it was like he ran all the way here. Sarah felt her heart beat faster at the sudden panic of having to admit what had happened, well nothing exactly bad happened however for whatever reason it had worked up Jack.

"Yes...he got locked out so I let him stay on the couch." Sarah answered, Jack gave a nod but still seemed rather...worked up about the situation.

"Someone saw him walk in, but if he came here then that means someone else was wandering outside and watching." Jack explained, she could see his hand shaking "Did James mention anyone in his past that might follow him? Do  _you_ have anyone that may show up here?" His voice was raising higher as his question continued "If either of you are hiding anything, now is the time to start talking."

"We haven't been hiding anything, at least as far as I know." Sarah answered with some slight panic.

"Well, the man wasn't just some rumor about James, someone saw him walk into your apartment as someone watched. I thought they were here for me but apparently they didn't fit the description." Jack went on his voice still shaking. Sarah started to feel a sense of panic, the only person that can show up would be her uncle...but she moved here to get away from anything like that. It might be someone from James' already difficult-sounding past but they would have gotten him a long time ago.

Either way, she was correct to be here as enough people saw to mention it to others.

"Did they..." Sarah began "What was the description?"

"Well, he was about 6 foot, dark hair, looked high-class...all they could get." Jack answered making Sarah back off a little.

"Excuse me, I have someone I need to contact." She mumbled before closing the door on Jack without a goodbye, this was enough to set Jack into mental overload on his friend. This couldn't be nothing, and Sarah had that bad habit of not speaking whenever anyone asked if something was wrong.

His first instinct was to go to the police, but they were already on alert after the word got out. If he had to, he would even stand guard over the area just to see what creep would be waiting outside of her home.

Sarah had already gathered that Jack would still be out there, but she was more focused on dialing the only number she guessed it could be. She immediately cancelled the call, she couldn't end up facing him at the moment. Just when she thought things were going fine...just when she felt somewhat happy he decided to go watching her.

And he saw James enter her apartment in the middle of the night.

Maybe she should tell someone, she really should. It would make it so much easier and the man who caused her so much pain could be arrested. Easy right? It could honestly be that simply resolved.

Except for one issue, if she's wrong and it's someone out for James she could be causing him problems. They sounded the same as the uncle she thought of, but the description was vague as well. She might be getting paranoid knowing what she was dreading this month.

Keeping all this in mind and hoping the police stayed on high-alert, she took a deep breath and calmed her nerves. The door started knocking again which made her quickly jump out of her skin after she just calmed down.

"Sarah Jane, is there something we need to know?" Jack asked through the door, his voice was obviously concerned enough for him to stay at the door. Knowing that she needed to reassure him she reopened it to see him still look just as panicked as before...well as panicked as Jack could seem.

"Yeah, I overreacted. The police would be on it since it got this far right?" Sarah asked trying to hold a brave smile after the shock from earlier, Jack gave a light nod but somehow he wasn't entirely convinced she was just overreacting.

"Maybe, but you still seemed to be rather worried that it was someone that you knew. Is there something you're not telling us? If you don't feel safe staying here I'm sure Donna would be willing to let you stay with her for a little while." Jack gave a concerned tone, he was trying to be calmer and far more gentle in case it was something that they needed to  _seriously_ resolve for her safety. He can't go accidentally scaring her out of talking. "Why  _was_ James here last night? Is there something he knows that we don't?" He then asked before Sarah even gotten a chance to answer, he did know something but he would probably be as clueless as she was about the whole situation if he had asked. Either way, she believed it was nothing relating to this particular incident and truthfully didn't want to admit she had a small breakdown.

"No, it was nothing to do with that." She finally answered shaking her head. She didn't want him being pushed into this if it's on her, he had been supportive enough. She didn't want anyone questioning him or it coming out too far that James had shown up at her apartment around the time, they will either mistaken him for the wanderer without the description or he'll end up admitting he had gotten locked out the building and had nowhere else to go.

He would end up in a lot of trouble and a lot of explaining to do, but he honestly had innocent intentions and they couldn't exactly give him _too_ much trouble for that.

Jack tried to read her for a moment, something happened and his gut kept telling him that but he wasn't exactly going to dig. Whatever it is was his friend's business, and if it doesn't put her in danger he wasn't going to push too hard. "At least promise me this; if you're in any kind of trouble no matter the time or the place, you let me know...and if it's not me tell Donna or even James." He spoke as seriously as he could be and looked directly into her eyes for an answer.

"Of course." She responded giving him the satisfaction he needed knowing that she would. Sarah Jane wasn't one for breaking promises, he was going to trust that she will keep to this one especially.

"Alright, I have to get going..." He sighed before giving her a smile "Take care of yourself." He began to finally leave.

"Alright, stay safe." She responded as he left down the stairs, he raised a hand to let her know that he heard her before he was completely gone from her eyesight. She closed the door behind her, she had people all around her here and yet she still felt a slight bit of insecurity. Deciding that maybe she should go to the familiar art room like normal, acting normal was all she could do to keep her stress levels to a minimum at this rate. It seemed like an odd way of coping to her considering all the other methods she went through, but nonetheless sometimes it works to keep her head clear.

* * *

 

James was particularly absentminded today. He had dropped his pencils everywhere several times, been caught looking out the window a few times as well...he was exhausted from the night before and as the day went on it clearly started showing.

He didn't regret staying up, he just had to get a good nights sleep and he'll be fine tomorrow. As long as he didn't get himself locked out again he'll be fine and he will annoy people a lot less tomorrow...probably.

But the thing is, seeing what he saw last night made it hard to think of that. He was almost tempted to just go over there after this class instead of hiding out in the library as always. Did she get enough mental rest? Was she overworking herself in a panic again? He had told her several times now that she should be fine, she was smart and ahead in her work so she couldn't be losing too much by spending a little time to recover from that nasty anxiety attack. He found himself walking slightly faster in the halls when he knew he had nothing left here for the day, at least until he bumped into a far older man with the hardest stare.

A man he knew quite well.

"I have never seen you this eager to leave." He spoke raising one of eyebrows at him.

"O-oh John..." He said in surprise as he tried to fumble with his words "I'm just looking out for a friend. She seemed rather upset."

"You made a friend?" He asked before giving interest, James was usually so recluse that he was honestly surprised.

When James first came here at 15, he had made no plans of where to stay. Upon all of that, he refused to give any details on where he was from or who he or his parents are so it left them with quite the issue. The police were going to use other details, as a minor they had to make sure they knew who he was somehow.

But he begged them not to, he was  _pleading_.

So much so that John took pity on the boy, he had only met him a couple of times the first two days...but being the way he was despite his obvious grumpiness he ended up taking him under his wing.

Lying and claiming he was a relative was dangerous business, acting like he was angry with him for running away then giving the excuse that he was going to watch out for him was part of the deal with James for coming out with the truth.

The truth was disturbing to say the least, John was never a parent but he was pretty sure he could do a better job that his did.

So he hid him, became his guardian and made sure he didn't fuck up...and to be perfectly honest he believed he did a decent job. Sure he made some mistakes, maybe he was a little harsher back then and he may have snapped at James for things he shouldn't have. But he never hurt him intentionally, he never raised a hand and even became proud of his progress as a person. John had never verbally admitted this, but he did often try to show it in his actions. James had caught onto it rather quickly and would gave a smile whenever he showed his pride in who was probably the closest thing he had to a son.

Despite the way John would act, despite the way he'd drive everyone crazy he actually had a good heart, enough of a good heart to take in a kid he barely knew and made sure he managed to get by on his own.

He had by now remembered about this new friend of his, he did see them every now and again. Working here has had him seen enough of the local students to recognize her. However, he would never really take the time to learn her name unless she was an actual student of his or she had connections to people he knew, and even then he'd have an alternate nickname.

"You mean that stubborn journalist?" He asked making James finally stop walking.

"So you  _have_ seen her." he gave John a smile as he approached.

"She's recluse too." He commented, thinking back "One of her two rather loud friends is in one of my classes."

"I'm not that recluse, and she isn't either!" James objected narrowing his eyes "She's just stressed."

"Is that why you weren't in your room last night?" John asked making James suddenly become a deer in the headlights "Don't think I didn't know, the dear lady from across Journalist's apartment told me you were sneaking around. Which I know isn't true considering she mentioned you entered her home."

"It's not what it looks like..." James had guilt in his voice, but John just gave a smirk.

"I wasn't thinking that, I'm thinking you got distracted... _again_." John's voice was now getting stern, it usually became this way before a lecture "Honestly, I don't care about that if it was...as long as it's not on school grounds I couldn't give a shit as long as you're not  _stupid_. You're an adult now, it's not my business. I'm only concerned over the fact that you were distracted enough to get locked out."

"I know, I know...I'm sorry." James apologized, him getting distracted from something important didn't happen 24/7 like some people would exaggerate but it did still happen and cause incidents such as last night to happen "It won't happen again."

"Just make sure when you stay the night with your girlfriend you get to your classes on time and pass your exams." John then stated making James fluster.

"I said it wasn't like that, nothing happened...she just helped me out." James explained, John held back his grin like he was purposely teasing him just a little bit...not enough to upset him but enough as vengeance for all the explaining he had to do later.

"You seem incredibly tired for 'nothing'." John ended with before leaving into the classroom for his next class, he did believe him he just couldn't miss the opportunity.

James took a moment but realized that he was probably being teased again, John had that habit since he started spending all that time living with him. It wasn't malicious at all but this is the first time she used something that would fluster him so.

He then remembered that he had to go and make sure Sarah was alright...he usually had gut feelings but lately he had been feeling something rather heavy over the two of them. It wasn't about meeting her, or staying there in particular just like someone had been watching lately.

And the sudden information of someone sneaking around didn't help, it was almost like the universe was giving him some kind of confirmation. His intuition was rarely wrong, enough so that eventually John started listening. He didn't believe in anything, but whenever the younger teenage James told him not to go somewhere after that  _one_ incident, he would change his plans rather quick.

The second he got outside he had ended up walking rather fast, and he was extremely focused. He was normally distracted yes but when it was important, when he knew the situation was extremely serious he could completely direct his attention to that.

Problem is, he gets so focused on the situation to the point of worry. He didn't realize how serious he actually looked until Rose actually froze in a look of surprise, of course she would have been the one to grab the information but he will question her later.

So much of his past was buried...he was confident that it would remain that way and he didn't want Sarah being in the line of fire. He had traveled this far in hopes that he wouldn't be followed and he could live in peace after all, he was only stopped when he felt his arm firmly grabbed, he almost shoved him away until he heard his voice.

"There are you are~" The man spoke with an american accent, Jack...the only at least American-sounding person here "Why are you in such a rush to get here?"

James' puppy-like personality seemed all but vanished, he took his arm back quite quickly "I have some personal matters." He stated with his voice so much more serious than Jack could have expected, on first glance he seemed completely incapable of such an appearance. Something about those blue eyes of his turned cold and made Jack shudder out of a sudden anxiety. And he sure wasn't one to get anxious easily...

"Personal matters? Something to do with the man last night?" Jack questioned keeping himself pushing forward. Sure, he could be safe but he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if his friend got involved.

"Something like that, I'm just checking on Sarah and it's  _extremely_ important that I get there." James answered still persisting to keep that tone of voice which Jack tried oh so hard not to get suspicious from.

"Is this something to do with you? Are you putting her in danger? What the hell went down last night?" Jack pushed harder, but it only made James' eyes darken further. It seemed partly from annoyance, partly from whatever else was going on that head of his. For some reason something about him right now made him feel rather pressured into leaving, telling Jack to turn away if he doesn't want to deal with whatever storm was next to come.

"I am not putting her in danger." James snapped before stopping for a moment to take a deep breath "It's between me and her, and I'm more concerned about her. If you're looking to help you're questioning the wrong person." His voice had become somewhat cold and logical, yet at the same time his eyes had quickly softened. Maybe he didn't mean to appear that way, maybe if he truly is innocent then he was simply worked up from what he had heard.

Which was understandable and perfectly so, however the personality he just showed was rather...interesting to say the least.

"If you care about her this much, if she is in danger you will tell someone." Jack was somehow keeping eye contact, even when unsure what to think.

"She won't be in any danger around me, I am sure." James' voice was getting softer, the original panic from the thoughts he had before had cooled down. Of course it was too late to hide whatever Jack saw to make him seem so...bothered. But he had to get going, he had to make sure everything was alright and nobody strange and showed up while nobody was there.

He began walking off not even waiting for Jack's answer, or in this case another question. Jack turned around as the man walked behind him quickly, almost annoyed than James was willing to simply wander away without even giving any real answers as to what was going on. 

"Hey!" Jack yelled out as he kept walking away, not wanting to draw any more attention to the locals than he already has he ended up making the decision not to follow. he turned his head to see that Rose was a witness to the whole thing from afar, he gave her a guilty look as an apology. She shook her head almost like she was completely exhausted from his usual shit.

And of course she was, he was usually the one causing noise after all.

* * *

 

By the time James got upstairs Sarah had already settled back to drawing, hearing another knock on her door almost made her feel completely irritated. The one day she spent not doing too much was the day everyone apparently wanted to visit her. She stood back up and opened the door to see James on the other side, as usual he gave her the most gentle gaze and the softest smile as a greeting.

"Are you alright?" He softly asked with worry in his tone. Sarah paused a moment to think how she would answer this, then decided that she should probably be truthful considering he knew the truth either way.

"Not exactly, something went out of hand and I'm carrying the stress." Sarah answered before opening the door wider to let him in, James figured this already and couldn't help but curse whoever decided to mix all this up.

They just had to leave the police to it, they just had to stay safe that was all. He doubted it was anyone they knew anyway considering how far both of them were away from their original homes. After she had closed the door he ended up pulling her into a rather big hug, she seemed like she needed it after all. "We have three weeks off next week, let's try and focus on that instead of the mess this place can become whenever something  _vaguely_ exciting happens." He tried to joke a little bit there, this place was highly excitable and this should pass if it's nothing. He felt Sarah hug back, he wasn't entirely prepared to let go now.

"Wait, it's closed next week?" Sarah asked with surprise.

"You didn't know?" He asked pulling away only slightly to look at her.

"No, I must have forgotten." She shook her head, James soon realized that he had been hugging her for quite a while now, probably longer than he should have. He eventually let go before giving a calm sigh.

James almost said something in response then remembered what he should probably tell her now before she figured out later, of course it may come as surprise or not depending on if she met him. "Oh yes, my guardian knows about last night. If he calls you Journalist in the halls you've earned a nickname." He said trying to lighten up the mood for her "He's John Smith, not sure if you've heard of him but I think he teaches Donna?"

Sarah had to think for a moment, but her eyes widened as she suddenly realized who exactly he was talking about. "You mean the man who Donna says is..." She stopped right there, knowing that John took care of him when he was younger it might not be a good idea to start telling him what his students have been saying. James though, let out a soft, quiet laugh.

"Oh don't worry, I know. I hear it all the time." He reassured "To be fair he can be rather strict and he doesn't get many fans because of it. I owe that man my life, though." He spoke so gently when it came to him, it made her wonder if he was as awful as people said he was. Sure he was ruthless, a lot to deal with and never bothered to learn at least 98% of his students names (Donna sometimes gets called her her's, but only when needed after she complained enough times) but from the fact that he apparently took care of someone as soft and gentle as James was...

He might not be too bad at least.

"Really?" She asked finally letting that locked up journalist out of her cage "What happened?"

"Well, when I first came here I had nowhere to go." He began as they headed to sit down, it was probably for the best considering they might be here a while "I didn't want to go home, I especially didn't want anyone finding out who I was. I refused to let anyone take prints, DNA and I didn't take a piece of identification. But they eventually caught onto something that might have revealed who I was and thus send me back, that was when John got involved. He kept walking into me, eventually asked who the hell I was and why I was 'so fucking clumsy'. I gave him my name, no surname...we got to talking and all of the sudden by some strange miracle he decided he wanted to take me in." James explained almost looking completely clueless as he could be about John's sudden decision. "It was strange, I never understood why...but I'm grateful for everything he's given me."

Sarah listened to him as he revealed his past without much thought. She didn't know how he already had so much trust, but somehow it made it easier for her to be truthful herself. It was an odd feeling, like they were already close friends from the start and yet hadn't had the chance to meet.

"Well, he can't be a bad person then. If he took you in without knowing you." Sarah commented, James gave a nod.

"He definitely isn't a bad person, when you get past the grumpy old man act he's actually a good conversationalist. He even gives some rather good advice from time to time." He seemed to be smiling at the current conversation, thanks to John he had absolutely no regrets about leaving that place. He was more a father to him than his own biological one that was for sure.

He may never know the answers or the reason why he took him in, but he was thankful that he did. Although hard to adjust to at first, John was definitely someone who truly had a good soul...even if he could be harsh. James almost yawned again for probably the 50th time today, it was now Sarah's turn to seem concerned as she could see how dark his eyes were.

"You still haven't gotten much rest yet?" She asked, probably a stupid question but she wanted to keep their conversation going somehow.

"No, I came straight here I'm afraid. Jack stopped me in the way, I think he's worried about you and I didn't give the best impression." He admitted rubbing one of his eyes to regain focus. Being grabbed out of nowhere was never a good idea with James, somehow he'd either become irritated or slightly upset by the action. He'll probably apologize to Jack later now he has calmed down considering he was only looking for for Sarah, and it was true that some of the things about him were kept in the shadows. But for now he had to make sure Sarah was left in a good mood, no matter how long it took for him to achieve that.

"Why? Did something happen?" She asked making him feel some slight guilt, if he was going to confess that he wasn't always like...well him he didn't want to do it when she already had enough to deal with. he gently placed his hand on her head.

"Nothing to worry about, I think we had a slight misunderstanding and I'm planning to apologize. I may have come off as slightly aggressive that's all." He gave her his signature bright smile, though it wasn't nearly as bright as normal due to simply how exhausted he looked by now.

"You should really go home and get some rest." Sarah suggested at the sight of his current state.

"Oh no, I'm not that tired. I told you, I've pulled all-nighters." He yawned once more disproving his claim quite quickly, though he seemed determined to stay wide awake "Aren't you tired yourself? You were up as late as I was." He then smirked "If I'm tired then you  _must_ be."

"I am tired, it's just far too early to sleep." She crossed her arms as it seemed he was trying to turn the tables.

"Exactly, too early." He chirped "I shouldn't rest yet if I don't want to be awake at God-knows-what-hour." He then added as he absentmindedly leaned onto her from exhaustion, she almost gave him a rather 'really?' stare out of how unconvincing he was right now. He had a rather adorable yet stupid smile on his face as though he was totally proving himself right.

"Oh yeah? So you're absolutely fine?" She asked with a slight grin at how he was completely unable to keep himself awake, after a moment or two where he didn't reply she gently poked the head that was now on her shoulder to see if he would respond.

Nope, out like a light.

She gave out a quiet laugh "I was right, then?" She asked mostly herself as she knew she wasn't going to get a response now. "How are you so peaceful...?" She questioned again, but still not expecting a single word in response from him. At the realization of her situation however some blood rushed to her cheeks, unable to understand how something like this could get her so shy she found herself looking away from his face.

"Does your sleeping face have to be that pretty?" She then whispered as she glanced back at him for a moment.

"My sleeping face isn't pretty, this is my awake face." James' soft voice said in a sudden and surprising response, she almost jumped back before realizing that he was still on her shoulder "Though I'll take the compliment." One of his blue eyes opened with a smirk making her cheeks go redder.

"Oh...you..!" She quietly whined making him give out a chuckle, even now he was still so determined to seem awake that he could claim a face like  _that_ for being awake, and at that having the nerve to wake up just at the point where she called his sleeping face pretty.

"You're adorable." He then tiredly commented before seemingly dropping off again, he was lucky she was leaning back in her seat or she may have been uncomfortable. She glanced away feeling like her heart was going to burst out her chest "Your sleeping face is far prettier than mine, I bet."

He was probably delirious from exhaustion, he may not even know what he's saying. But she was still rather flustered from his comments "Maybe you should go to sleep, Sarah." He then mumbled as he could hardly keep himself awake.

"I can't sleep like this." She quietly spoke, she honestly wanted to figure whatever was happening right now. It somehow wasn't unwelcome, and she somehow didn't mind if it didn't stop...however it did seem odd how meeting him could go from that to _this_.

"Oh...might be easier if you were lying on me." He continued to tease before slowly moving upward. Pulling her in close to him tightly and almost protectively he started to fall asleep again. Unable to understand what was happening, Sarah felt herself frozen on him...at first she was tense and then she started to relax.

Something was oddly comforting about all this, well at least until she suddenly felt him jerk awake.

"W-what...?" He asked looking very tired on confused "Oh, so I wasn't dreaming about sleep again then." He then added opening admitting defeat.

Hearing those words made Sarah lie still for a moment, wait...so he was dreaming about sleeping? So everything from a certain point was him truly delirious? "Who the hell dreams about sleeping...?" She asked in disbelief at first before she started laughing at his chest "This whole time, you thought you were sleeping?"

"N-not the whole time...just after I took the compliment." He confessed having been caught out for sleeping when he said he was completely awake.

"You dreamed of complimenting me back, then?" She asked "How sweet~"

"H-hey...you can't talk. I pulled you into a hug for you to sleep too and you're still here even after learning that!" He argued back reminding her quite clearly that her head was still on his chest. Quickly sitting up, she seemed to leave him a little disappointed. "I didn't ask you to leave." He frowned, though whether or not he was trying to tease her again was something she couldn't quite figure out.

"I thought you were just dreaming and delirious, you couldn't possibly want your friend to sleep against you chest." She raised and eyebrow at him, he then gave a slight head tilt.

"I thought dreams had some truth to them...? Maybe I was worried about you missing out on sleeping and dreaming of sleeping when I was on your shoulder." He then began joking again as if his embarrassment from earlier was nothing.

"How considerate." She commented but gave a slight smile "Maybe I should have taken the offer."

James smiled back before widening his eyes "So um...is that serious or are you still joking?"

Sarah tried to come up with the answer, but it was hard considering he was grinning at her like he was waiting for a response to talk back to, he seemed far more confident now than he ever was earlier.

He was sweet and caring, and apparently dreams about actually sleeping but somehow liked to see her get flustered over this.

"I'm standing by my earlier statement." His expression finally turned into one she could see that was serious "You are adorable."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, sorry! I am updating again! TwT
> 
> It took six chapters but here is another part of the growing plot, I wanted to try this style of AU for a while and gosh...I like to take my time. 8U

It never quite dawned on Jack that his major wasn't completely obvious.

He thought he never had to say it, why would he? They're his friends he was sure he mentioned it once right? Well...it became more and more obvious that it was mysterious enough to cause a guessing game. But what happened today definitely confirmed it was true.

He had said to Sarah  _'Oh do you know what is happening this week?'_  She responded saying ' _I don't know, what is happening this week?'_ and first he thought she was joking. Did he not have the face for it or was he truly an idiot? He then asked Donna, who said ' _Other than a lecture off my mum I don't know.'_ which confused him even further.

He then remembered that he never actually mentioned it at all.

But they never asked!

He was almost annoyed but at the same time, what could he expect. He was very vague on his answer but they were mostly ones that are guessable by nature. He once even recited word for word something that would give it completely away. Apparently his friends both lives in  _caves_ since neither of them caught on.

In fact, he had decided he was going to make it impossible for even cave dwellers to not recognize. With determination he walked forward to track them all down and have them all figure it out. If not, he guessed he would have to skip all the punchlines and just be outright with it. He managed to find Donna surprisingly, well at least he had one person to confirm whether or not he was clear enough over what he studied.

"Hi, 'sup!" He called out to catch her attention, of course she would look at him with slight surprise. More often than not he would end up right back in class to try and keep up with everything he wanted to achieve in a short amount of time. Thanks to the smirk growing on his face, she had already become slightly suspicious.

"What is with the smile?" Donna asked immediately, Jack's expression didn't falter.

"Something big is happening this week, and I want you to guess what." He responded making Donna's eyes widen.

"Is it something illegal?" She then asked with great concern.

"No."

"Is it something that can you thrown out of Uni?"

"No!"

"Did you flirt with James and in a fit of anger Sarah Jane banned you from talking to him?"

"No way!" He finally exclaimed with some slight panic over the thought "I'm not  _suicidal_ geez. Who the hell knows what the girl can do when that puppy gets uncomfortable."

"I think she knows a little self-defense but knowing a 'little' with her might not mean the same thing as us." Donna confirmed "You would be suicidal, yeah."

"I mean something big is happening this week, you see...when one expresses themselves in such a passionate way it can  _totally_ get you places!" He expressed allowing the wind to flow through his hair.

"We all get it, Jack..." She sighed "You're extremely handsome and enough so that you get into 'places'."

"No!" Jack said again for what felt like the millionth time "You know how hard I have been working right? Well...I managed to get the part."

"Part...?" Donna asked, Jack finally gave in with the most tired sigh.

"I'm a  _actor_!" He finally admitted "I have been acting for years, and none of you have noticed?"

"Oh..." Donna paused as she thought for a moment, all those lines he was reciting, all that time he spent at night in class... _oh indeed._

"Is it clear now?" He asked, he began to giver her a slight frown "None of you really knew what I studied?"

Right now Donna was just surprised, but at the same time she was completely  _not_ surprised. Somehow she could see him on stage with a spotlight shining on him, with him singing something about a spaceman who travels through time and space. Yeah, that seemed like the type of man he'd like...someone who would fly him into the sunset. "Well...it explains a fair bit yeah." She eventually said, Jack then raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by 'it explains a fair bit?'" He then asked, this definitely put Donna in quite the difficult situation. If she says _'Oh because you're so good at it!'_ he may respond  _'You've never seen me act!'_ if she said ' _Well, your personality really fits it.'_ he may then come up with the response ' _So I'm overly dramatic and a complete stereotype!?'_ really, the only way she could escape this situation was the deflect it and move to something else. Her brain was running fast through a set of topics that could help her avoid accidentally offending her friend even further. "Ah...by the way how was your talk with James?"

She knew it was a bad idea the second she saw his expression. It looked like it didn't go  _too_ well and considering he did it out of the care he had for one of his friends...he probably felt a little guilty about anything bad that may have come out of it. He gave a light nod though, he seemed to be trying to tell her that he was probably going to explain that little situation.

"Well, it could have gone better...but I don't believe he has any bad intentions." He answered truthfully "I may have come off a little aggressive, so of course he got defensive but I decided to get some background digging about the guy."

"And?" Donna asked, she hated to admit but she liked a good mystery...especially about someone that was so close and yet so unknown by most people. When most of course, she'd mean apart from the people who first saw him move in and found him a little suspicious.

"What if I told you...that Professor John Smith is his legal guardian?" He then made the least worrying reveal that he could, one that would at least make Donna wonder if he was lying. And of course, such a thing worked, she whispered 'no...' to herself for a moment and then all of the sudden...

"How can someone as completely  _stuck up_ and grouchy as him raise someone that quiet-spoken!" She then said loudly the second it finally sunk in. Jack gave her a shrug, it wasn't like he knew either. It was a simple story, kid runs away from home, kid refuses to give details to the police and so  _happens_ to meet a distant retaliative willing to take him in and  _not_ send him back home. Honestly to him it sounded a little too lucky and somewhat unbelievable. However there was somehow enough evidence for the police to simply accept it. Rose said she didn't like digging further since John was particularly protective over that; she didn't want to end up in more trouble than it was worth.

Which was fair enough, she was doing him a favour in order to cross people off the suspect list. No good getting her to face that old man with the angry eyebrows because she found out too much, who knows James may have been involved in something rather dangerous himself and as someone who was the same, it would be wrong to even imply there was such a chance. After all, it was one of the many ways your parents can really mess you up.

"To be honest, I can't entirely believe it either." He said after that moment of thought "But we don't know what the Professor is like when he isn't being well...a professor."

"Are you implying he may have a more  _sensitive_ side?" She asked, though mostly jokingly. Though after hearing that she wondered, maybe the man wasn't as grouchy as she thought and that maybe, he had enough care in his heart to be a guardian to a kid. Only James would know either way, and if John has a level if pride he may not take well to people going around telling others about how kind he can be.

"Maybe, who knows? I don't think you ever entirely know a person until you spend that much time with them." He walked with her when she started moving again, though they were doing so slowly. Taking their time as to keep their conversation going he figured. "I mean, we know River who runs the newspaper but we don't  _know_ her. Sarah Jane may get a chance to  _work_ with her but she won't know her normal life." He then thought for a moment, what an idiot this was River..."Well, whatever normal for her is anyway."

"Oh yeah about that, every time Sarah tries to put in an application River isn't there...she's getting a little frustrated." Donna remembered at the mere mention of her name, her being the head of the newspaper here was the only chance Sarah had for work experience, she wanted to be a freelancer but she did think it was a good idea that she managed to have a taste of what it was actually like working with them before making a solid decision. "I thought of trying to find her myself but she's always rushing away."

"She's an enigma, she'll be there one minute and vanish the next. Always on the next story..." He sighed, her options really were limited for that in this area "I wonder how she finds so much in somewhere so small."

"Maybe because like all small places there are secrets nobody guesses, all because they think they know everyone so well?" Donna suggested, after all Sarah Jane's job may be a bit revolved around that if they brought harm to anyone here. Sure, there are the things you'd expect like things happening at the school...that one time at the university where Jack decided it would be a  _great_ idea to accidentally kill the power from the entire building. Knowing his major now, it was probably a rather large stage accident. Nobody knew it was him though, they only knew because he confessed to them and asked them not to tell anyone.

"Well, that's what people like Rose are good at. They find information and are extremely good at it too, nobody suspects her because she's just a girl in a shop so it's the perfect disguise." Jack said with a slight smirk on his face "And then there's people like me and River who take said information for the safety of others."

"Why did you get involved in all this anyway?" Donna then asked making him paused for a moment, he decided for once he should be a little honest. After all, they've been friends for a long time and he could trust her with knowing a little of his rather...difficult background.

"When nobody helped me, I decided I would never let anyone feel that helpless again. So I got into being support, but to be support I need to do something a little  _shady_ sometimes." He also liked the rewards that came with it, but that wouldn't ever come out right. Instead, it was probably safer just to end it there so it didn't seem like he was only doing it for his own benefit.

When he was younger, maybe it would be completely for him...but after the friend he made he became a little more selfless.

Donna placed a hand on his arm as a form of comfort. Of course she knew, the past still bothered him on occasion...in fact they were all messed up in their own way but at least they didn't let it defeat them. It's probably the only thing Jack really believed in, that they weren't defeated yet.

* * *

 John was on a warpath since this morning, last night he found out some worrying news. He knew this town a slight underground thing going on, he knew there were people out there in this town that could find information. In fact, he made it his job to purposely avoid contact with them and avoid them getting curious...however if it ever came to pass that someone  _did_ do a background check he may have simply dropped it.

As long as they didn't involve his son.

Now, he was filled with anger he had repressed all day. This was supposed to be a rare day off for him, but apparently things have turned out beyond his plans and now he had to be sure nobody did such an act again. One part of the truth being found out could be bad for James and at that for him. He found his way to the shop he had barely taken the time to stay at normally, walked inside like a storm was brewing behind him and almost dramatically took off his sunglasses so he could glare at Jackie Tyler at the counter.

"What's wrong with you mate?" She asked, John's expression didn't even change, that hard glare continued.

"Where is Rose Tyler?" He asked in the most unconvincingly soft tone he could possibly make. At first Jackie wanted to throw him out, a strange man with the angriest look on his face just asked where her daughter is. In her experience, that is never a good sign.

"Sorry, she's out." Jackie responded casually, John was biting his tongue of all the passive-aggressive comments he can throw. He didn't need James to start asking him why he had to get thrown out of another building over the matter.

"When she gets back, I need to speak to her. Your daughter has been stepping on mine, and my family's privacy." He then said without even losing eye contact, Jackie felt like what could be ice running down her back. He really lived up to his reputation that was for sure "Do you know that your daughter is exceptionally talented in digging where she doesn't belong?" She would respond, she would always respond but something told her the man wasn't even done yet. "If you see her, tell her to keep far away from my son."

Before she could yell at him, he had stormed out as quickly as he had came in. Not wanting to deal with a lecture from a hysterical mother and feeling disappointed that he couldn't pass the message himself, there wasn't much point in adding more insult to injury. Now for the girlfriend, he guessed...if she was he didn't even know.

Did James even know? What is up with kids these days and not being entirely clear on such a matter. But he wanted to check out the girl that had been hanging around him anyway, maybe it was some slight curiosity...or maybe he found the idea that the two least sociable people found each other amusing. After all what were the chances that would happen?

After he made his way to the apartment area, he found the place where he may have been suspected due to getting so incredibly lost. He rolled his eyes at the thought, first time he did that they had to make a search party. If there was a thanks he could give her for one thing, it was preventing that event from happening. Now, if he could figure out which building James and gone and walked to when he realized that he could be in a  _a lot_ of trouble if he was found outside the gates...he could ask the girl herself what the hell happened that night. If he can get the alibi cleared up he can go to the neighbor and politely telling to her to go _fuck off_ and ask his girlfriend if he wanted proof.

Again, he wasn't sure about the girlfriend thing. But that will clear up soon.

Right, he wasn't too close to the area the claim was made, probably...if he had gotten the address right. He then had a sudden thought, it would be bad of him to start asking questions to this girl since she hasn't met him, and he'd probably have the door slammed in his face if he well...gave her his usual expression the second she opened it. Often, it would end in him having to  _try_ and smile in order to seem friendlier, but the smile that would appear on his face? As awkward as you can imagine. This is why he rarely smiles, it frightens and concerns people on all levels.

Instead, he would ask James. Probably will take some time but he can usually get a few things out of him.

Besides, he a little business with a certain River Song...you could say someone asked him to do a little favour.

* * *

 

"So, what made you want to draw?" James asked almost suddenly, they had been sitting on a bench for almost a few minutes now. Sarah had agreed to go on a walk with him, and of course like always had this habit of rambling a bit. It wasn't like she minded it at all, in fact how passionate he could get about topics he loved was rather adorable. She thought for a moment, but honestly couldn't entirely remember why. To her, it was mostly because she was looking for a hobby that was more a distraction.

"I'm not sure, it was something I wanted to try out and I happened to enjoy it." She answered, he seemed satisfied enough "How about you?"

He then looked a little shy, he let out a soft nervous chuckle before answering the question "It might seem a bit strange but, I only started because I read this comic once." He started "John offered to buy it for me when I first moved in, he said as long as it was appropriate he didn't see the harm. He said he didn't understand why I wanted to read something so 'sappy' though."

"So you were inspired?" She asked, he actually wasn't sure. For some reason after reading it he got the need to draw. He could say yes, it was inspiration and he wanted to practice art because of it but...it was honestly a mystery and he couldn't entirely remember. He had a horrible memory and this was one of the things that slips his mind every time he reads it.

Oh wait! He did somewhat remember the story, just not the reason.

"Not quite, I'm not actually sure." He was honest about it "But I do remember the story it told, John was right really it was rather 'sappy'. It was about two rabbits linked by a red thread. It was probably for younger children, but I liked the artwork."

Suddenly, it seemed rather familiar to her. She wouldn't be surprised if she read it before and had forgotten until now, she was pretty sure though that she never did so. "Seems familiar..." She responded trying hard to think back, did she pick that up at one point? "I don't remember."

"Your memory sounds as bad as mine." He smirked before coming up with an idea, oh yes...he could show it to her! He was pretty sure he still owned it, after all why would he let go of the thing that inspired him to start drawing? He used it as a reminder when he had doubts he guessed. "You could look at it, and it could remind you if you've seen it." He suggested, of course he would have to explain all of this to John who would be...not the best with any guests whatsoever. He tends to frighten people even when he smiles while they're unfamiliar with him. However, he may not be home at this time. He plans to break the idea to Sarah  _slowly_ that his adoptive guardian may be pretty great but actually meeting him may come with mixed feelings.

Besides, she may have already heard of some of the things he has caused over the years.

"Sure, it might." Was all she could answer, somewhere she knew it could either be a bad idea or an awful one. Not when it came to meeting his guardian like James would worry however, but mostly reading something that seemed to bother her so much already. It was like a rather sad old memory, not something awful or traumatizing but something with some nostalgia added to it.

Either way, she followed him to his house. It was quite far off from the main area of the town, quite close to what seemed like a forested area. Somehow, it fitted John to live somewhere so out of the way and so far from people. She could feel the intention was to not be bothered by anyone other than those who he knew, as others probably wouldn't have even noticed this place without the intention of heading here. However, the building itself was large enough to show that it was a little expensive. Either he had gotten paid quite well by the University or had originally got such a high payment by other means. Upon entering, it was almost a little empty other than the amount of books that seemed be everywhere you turned.

"Sorry, John tends to study quite late into the night." James said as he opened a closet to take out a small box, it seemed to be filled with old belongings that he didn't gave much room for in his room. Or, he wanted to keep them in a hidden place where they won't be touched. He soon presented to her a hardback book with a deep blue cover. It had a bright white fluffy rabbit on the front with what seemed to be a red string coming from it's paw. On the back was a black one connected to the white with that same string.

"Strange, I could swear I have seen it before..." Sarah blinked as she took it from his hands.

"I just love the way they drew the entire book. It almost seems like they went through with every detail they could imagine." James commented as she opened to the first page.

It really looked like they were drawing with desperation to get the image out. James seemed to realize that looking over her shoulder probably wasn't helping, so he backed off a little "So um, tell me what you think of it. I'll get you a drink or something."

He had left the room before she could even stop him, leaving her with this...strange book.


	7. Chapter 7

_There was once a white rabbit_

_Who leapt across the stars_

_However everywhere he turned_

_Oh his paw, was a strange red thread_

_He had followed it here and there_

_He had even run away from it for a while_

_However,_

_He'd always end up returning to where he once was_

_The thread was almost endless_

_And only got longer the further he wandered_

_At some point it pulled him back_

_Because of what was at the other end._

_So out of some bravery and frustration_

_He followed the thread back to it's start,_

_To find a black rabbit_

_Staring up at his favorite star._

 

_"Hello." he said, she turned her head_

_She quickly figured out he also had some thread_

_"Hello." She also said "Are you also pulled back by this thread?"_

_He gave her a nod and sat himself down,_

_They talked and talked throughout the night_

_Neither sure why they were tied._

_However by the dawn,_

_They had both made a new friend..._

_Neither was alone._

_However it seemed no matter the answer,_

_No matter how many worlds or lifetimes they scattered,_

_They were constantly tied together again,_

_No matter how many times it would tragically end._

_No matter where or what they were,_

_The rabbits would find themselves together alone,_

_It was then the rabbits realized they loved each other,_

_That no matter what happens,_

_They'll find one another._

 

* * *

 

Sarah couldn't help but close the book at this point, it was just as...corny was John probably thought it was. Seemed very James though, to take a liking to a story like this.

When he returned he could tell from the expression on her face that she pretty much reacted the same way John did. She was just less blunt about the entire thing. "Was a bit too cutesy, right?" He asked she shook her head. It wasn't exactly that at all.

"I'm just wondering how a children's story of this nature has more than just the general...' _destined bunny soulmates'"_ She responded looking at the thickness of the book with some slight...wonder at what else it could say. He looked a little confused.

"Bunny soulmates? Well...it does sound strange saying it out-loud." He responded. He was sure he read all of it but didn't recall the entire story, somehow the beginning stood out a little more than the rest. "The black rabbit is cute anyway, she is just so stubborn!" He then beamed "I know it's a kid's story but something about it drew me in, the art and the writing makes it feel a little nostalgic."

_Nostalgic_ , that was the word she was looking for. She must have read it at some point in her childhood, James had offered her a glass which seemed to contain some orange juice. "Thank you." She said as she took the cup, hearing the door open however he had put his down before he spilled it in shock. All of the sudden, he looked incredibly nervous and then laughed nervously.

"O-oh John, you're early..." He said with a bright smile on his face "You said you weren't coming home for a whole three hours."

"Plans change." He stated simply. He had not even noticed Sarah in the room, it was like she was currently completely invisible and he could only see James standing before him "Next time you ask for a favour, please make sure it isn't River Song of all people." He then grumbled. She was a pain, everyone was a pain...he didn't want to contact people ever again. He could just happily lock himself away in a room surrounded by historical research and stay there without a single piece of human contact. Well except for James but he was a special case, he had a responsibility for him and his...absent-minded ways.

"Hello, Miss Smith." John then said in passing, Sarah honestly jumped at that. In fact, _he_ flinched when he and just realized what he had said. His face turned into one for deep thought for a moment, he then slowly turned his head as he finally noticed her presence. He opened his mouth for a moment but decided not to speak, he glanced at James who was holding such an innocent, yet guilty look. "You brought her over..." He breathed "You never brought a friend over before. Thank God it isn't the loud ones." He finally walked away with still, a slightly confused and thoughtful expression on his face. He might be referring to Donna and Jack but...

James suspected it was almost everyone he ever met, ever.

"Y-yes, I brought a friend. You see I wanted to show her something, we won't be here long." James was talking quickly, it was almost like he was already in a little trouble. At least, that was how it seemed...to James it was more like he was hoping that John's bad record with people wouldn't apply here. He was almost pleading in his mind, repeating the words over and over  _'Oh God please don't say anything harsh or awkward.'_ James himself was awkward, but John was almost famous for accidental insults and seeming more cold-hearted than he was. "It was just the book you got me years ago, remember?"

"Oh yes, I remember." He responded quite quickly "I was hesitant on buying it at the time, but I thought it couldn't possibly hurt." Now that was something James didn't know about, but John always said strange things out of nowhere that never made sense. He then turned back to look at Sarah, who was standing there rather awkwardly. Well, not like she couldn't since she was in a rather strange situation to begin with. He shouldn't be home, but he was so may as well make some use of it "So, are you his girlfriend or does he just 'get lost' around your apartment for no reason?"

She was taken aback by his question, James had now buried his face in his hands like he was trying to block out what this scene was becoming.  _Oh gee thanks John just go ahead and say it, show your lack of normal social skills._ And the fact that he was  _asking_ that in the first place!

"N-no, we're just friends. I guess he just gets lost around my apartment for  _no reason_ other than getting lost." She replied with a slightly nervous tone, he seemed to get closer. Gosh Donna wasn't kidding, those eyebrows were obvious and his eyes were fairly expressive.

John then gave a slight shrug "Fair enough, he does it all the time. He once got distracted and ended up at least half a mile away."

"J-John!" James called out, this was not a chance for him to tell stories about getting lost! It cleared things up, but now was  _not the time_.

"You wandered half a mile away?" Sarah then asked, completely curious of course as to what may of caused that and  _how_ he achieved it, but James' cheeks were now bright pink.

"I-it was a rather bad day...I just get a need to wander off sometimes alright?" James flustered as he tried to explain his situation. "Besides, it's nothing to worry about I never end up somewhere dangerous."

John glanced away for a moment as though he did step on something a little bothersome, maybe he did wander somewhere dangerous and had forgotten. He then immediately jumped back to Sarah who was the peak of his curiosity right now, not a good time to dwell on a anything too  _depressing_. "Ah yes, River...she should stay in her office an extra hour tomorrow. You should see her before she fucks off again." He then stated outright "I am not running all over town for her again, meeting her was awkward enough."

"I'm sorry..." James immediately said to him, John just gave a slight nod in acknowledgment "Really I am, I know your history."

"You  _remember_ it." He corrected, he was there when it all fell apart after all "But she does owe me quite a bit, in this instance it was useful."

"Wait so...you asked him to...?" Sarah looked at James with surprise. He remembered that? He even managed to get John to talk to someone he already had history with? James suddenly looked a little apologetic, like he had done something wrong.

"I'm sorry if I crossed the line, but I figured it would help." He was practically apologizing in his tone, he didn't even need to say sorry. "You just seemed rather frustrated, so I thought I could make it easier."

John glanced between the two, alright he was not staying here. This was a little to domestic for his liking, and he adopted a teenager with a million issues. Besides, the entire scene made him realize how much work this was. The things he does so that his son could score a date.

Well, maybe he's still unsure even with Sarah's answer. But the fact that he was willing to go and ask  _him_ about this made him hope that he wouldn't take advantage of James and his kindness.

Either way, this was a moment where him standing there would be incredibly awkward, so it was better that as he put it: that he  _fucked_ off and worried somewhere else. And it wasn't just about his kindness being taken advantage of either, that book has a habit of opening a can of worms when it was the least convenient to him.

Which left Sarah faced with a very guilty looking James, he was scared he had crossed the line by getting involved but...how could he not? She was struggling to catch her and he knew the one person who probably could. He was very quickly taken by surprise however, when he pulled him into a tight hug "Thank you..." She spoke into his chest. A slight feeling of pride washed over him, maybe it was an incredibly bad thing that he took pride in being this helpful. But somehow it just felt right. "I owe you." She then added, no that was not what he wanted.

"Well..." He said with a growing smile on his face "Let's not do this whole owing thing, I don't want anything being done for me on obligation." He then explained, of course this was from his experience with River and John. Their relationship was going to go crashing down, and in emotional defense he pretty much told her that she owed him for everything he had done. Maybe it was a little rash, but she did live up to her end by doing this so far. Even when he was completely over her however, he still seemed to hold some grudges he would never understand.

He knew he didn't want anything like that out of obligation that was for sure, he wanted her to do something because she truly wanted to. Not forced or because she had a debt.

"Come on..." She said pulling away from the hug, that disappointed him to be fair. "If I didn't want to do it, I wouldn't. You should know I'm far too stubborn for that." She then added with some slight concern. He was probably showing his worries over the matter without realizing.

"You should thank John as well, he insisted. Something about keeping us on the right path or something, I zoned out after the first twenty minutes of his lecture." James explained, Sarah gave a nod. She should, he didn't have to agree to do that so she should. He actually did her a huge favour.

However, John had again vanished but by some luck he had rushed back into the room. He had remembered, earlier  _yes,_ he was supposed to warn James of something "Oh! James...don't go near the Tyler shop. Particularly that Rose girl she's the bane of my life." He then quickly said walking into the room. He then glanced at Sarah "Maybe you should too..." He said to her, though he wasn't entirely sure. Should she? He got a feeling that she shouldn't and his gut feelings never tend to be incorrect on these matters "No, you shouldn't. You stay away too." He then finally nodded, this was enough of mess. Honestly it was frustrating and he never understood why young people today were this level of annoying.

"Okay, I understand why I would need to stay away. But why her?" James asked before Sarah could give her thanks, though to be fair that question sprung to mind as well. She had already spoken to Rose what twice? She didn't see why she was someone she should avoid. It wasn't like that was going to be easy anyway, considering that she literally had to pass her workplace on the way back home. "I mean my past is enough..."

"I'm not sure why, I just think it would be good for her." He truthfully answered "I never know why, but have I been wrong before?"

Alright, that was true. John had a history of frustratingly being right, of course he was often wrong but when it came to these things he had a strange amount of intuition. He gave John a shrug, and he  _hated_ it when James would just shrug, it was annoying and he didn't know what he was thinking. Sarah took the chance within the silence to finally express her gratitude, at least before he started on a lecture of a lifetime of why Rose was a bad idea.

"Thank you, John." She said quickly, the older man froze with some slight surprise "You didn't have to do that for me, so thanks."

At first he didn't know how to react, he had never really been  _thanked_ by many people. But this time around it honestly felt undeserved "I owed you." He simply stated before starting to leave once more "I owed you..." he then repeated as he left from their sights.

James then thought for a moment in confusion, what did he mean by that? "You haven't met him before right?" He then asked her, she was sure she hadn't. This was the first time she had actually run into him, and he was stranger than when he was yelling at someone in the halls. Telling her not to go near Rose like he knew something she didn't, suddenly claiming he owed her something...maybe he was just rather eccentric. She shook her head in response to his question, still slightly confused but at the same time it felt the slightest bit familiar.

"Either way, I'm thankful." She shrugged it off "And I managed to say it, even if it ended in him being cryptic."

"He's not usually that cryptic, he's actually rather blunt." James then pointed out, mostly to himself. In fact, he was often a little  _too_ blunt. He had become less so over the years, but such a habit was hard to kill when it seemed to be second nature. "Either way um...tell me how it goes tomorrow!"

* * *

 

John hated repeating himself, it was actually a quick way to anger him. He became more tolerant, but when he started living with someone so forgetful he had to learn to somehow gain the patience. With everyone else though, they're pretty much asking to be snapped at. He was mostly thinking about this now though, because he always feels like he's repeating himself.

Repeating old actions, repeating the meeting of old faces. In fact, he tried very hard to make some of these meetings as different as possible. He couldn't tell you why but if he felt like he should have met this person before, he would try and throw them off guard to make the strain less repetitive. River was interesting for a while, she was unusual and didn't feel familiar at all...he didn't even get a spark of intuition but then she suspected from his activities, something was up. Journalists are a pain like that, they figure out something is up and they start asking questions.

He hated questions, he hated remembering. He hated having to over and over and wished he could simply have the same memory wipe as the others. He wondered if he was insane, really was a mad idiot who happened to be drawn to people he swore he had met before. Maybe these dreams he'd have meant nothing other than he had a wonderful imagination.

_He should have become a writer._ He knew he was wasting his incredible talents.

Imagination and insanity, or truth that shatters the normal reality around him....it didn't matter, he had other concerns.

There was a man wandering around here and he had a bad feeling about it, there was a girl that he had a bad feeling about as well. Not that she was a bad person (other than being incredibly annoying) but more like she's biting off more than she can chew. Sarah seemed to feel like someone he had seen a thousand times over, James was already his son the second he walked into his life. She had friends, but they felt annoying familiar as well.

Plus, he hated the belief in soulmates. He hated the idea that he was destined to meet the same group of people and that anyone could be tied to someone. "According to the story, it was an accident!" He then said to himself, obviously he wasn't intending for either of them to hear "A happy little accident where the two of you end up in the most annoying, stupid little situations because you flock to each other!"

Last time it was a mess however, he wondered if that was why he remembered and dreamed it over and over a thousand times. He never truly remembered these dreams, but they always had an air of dread and worry lingering over them. Did they just go and... _fuck_ up that badly?

Seeing James' face the first time tipped the boat, he was no longer the same person that was happily ignorant of past events. He knew what that book meant: It was absolute trouble. Honestly, he felt far older than even this body was, and the thought of dealing with all of this was just  _tiring_. Letting them look at it could either cause one of them to feel like something is familiar, or anger the wrong people. He had a habit of interfering where he shouldn't.

And yet, he was letting them both look at it, at the chance of remembering like his gut feeling kept saying. James didn't that was for sure, he seemed to be blissfully ignorant of the subject. Well, he could be fooling him...James might remember every detail and has decided to choose to pretend not to. He didn't know John did, and he always had an odd life. One which he could sometimes predict little events, he was just was tied up to them as the others. You see, humans are silly and make the mistake that soulmates are just romantic...really you can be linked to a group of people in different ways.

From what his instincts were saying, some people are friends in every lifetime, some people are lovers in every lifetime...even enemies somehow come into the link unfortunately. Really, it was just a set of delicate coincidences set to make them all meet again, somehow and some way despite whatever traumas they all went through.

Again, he could be a mad man. He could be entirely insane and this was some strange fantasy, however his predictions weren't wrong before...and he swore last time he owed her for something. She did him a solid of sorts, but he still felt like he should repay what she had done. However, he didn't entirely remember and it wasn't like anything would allow him to.

This is when things were a blank for him, it's like the memory was old enough to be a faded old photo...however the emotions remained. He still felt that need to repay an action, he still felt a slight sting of worry when certain faces show up or people started digging. But for now, his focus was the present instead of the uncertain future. And that was returning that help that he received.

She helped him, now he's helping her.

He was tired, and now he'd rather do something brainless. It was like whatever he picked up in the room had him short-fuse. That was a worry, he may have picked up something rather nasty this time, _oh well_ he thought...as long as Sarah Jane listened to him he had nothing to worry about. As long as  _nothing_ went wrong the feeling of slight doom should pass and he won't need to clean up the mess.

_And God_ he hoped he didn't jinx himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked the idea that at least one character, was more aware than they should be on the situation on this AU. And the fact that Soulmates isn't just a romantic thing. -3-
> 
> So yes, friends are all connected too. :3


	8. Chapter 8

A sigh escaped Donna's lips as she drowned out the entire lecture she was being given. She was a little behind on coursework again, and of course although she could catch up she was still having her ear talked off. She stared down at the cup in front of her and begged for it all to be over, how hard was it to stop telling her off after two minutes?

"You need to focus!" The older woman repeated herself "You need to stop spending so much time with those two...you're getting distracted!"

Maybe her mum meant the best, she was right she shouldn't allow herself to be distracted. But you know when you're not even sure of what you want to do, your subject is something you lack passion for and your main lecturer glares you down every time you're late with something...motivation becomes a hard thing to find. She far preferred her friends, she far preferred the idea of taking Jack's offer of just leaving this place. In fact, normally she could in just a second and forget all about it.

But something made her stay here, at least while one or two of her friends are here she can't exactly abandon everything. But who exactly needs her other than Jack? Other than her grandfather? She knows Sarah Jane cares but she'd still have that cute, bouncy man willing to keep her company. She's sure Jack would one day leave this place to act his heart out, the negativity from both the lecture and her own mind started seeping in. She continued to act as though she was irritated herself, no way she was going to start acting more mope-y in front of her mother.

"I get it, mum...who has been passing every exam?" Donna asked hypothetically, of course she wasn't passing at such a high grade her mother would be pleased. After all she did admit, she was a little bit distracted. Her friend seems overly stressed out and still, she stubbornly says everything is fine, she worries every day that Jack might get himself into more trouble than it's worth... _bad habits die hard_ , though that thought came from who-knows-where. She actually thought Jack was probably the most honest out of the lot of them. He just forgets to mention things, is all.

"Passing by the skin of your teeth!" Her mother was now raising her voice further "You can do far better than this!"

Now, that was something she didn't expect to her. Donna's eyes finally left the cup she had been staring at for the last ten minutes. She narrowed her eyes at her mother, she had never given her something so close to a compliment in her lectures. "I'm better?" She asked in almost disbelief, she never thought she was that good at anything. She was often getting through things only by an inch and basically depending on luck. Despite how many times she messed up, somehow she was able to get good enough to go to University.

"Well, you're clearly capable of much more if you got into uni!" She then exclaimed as she began leaving the room "No more of this...drifting and messing about!" Slam, a door shut tight.

Donna breathed in relief,  _finally_. Now that that hell was finally over she could finally relax just a little, it's sad that the closest thing to praise was the way she ended her damn rant. She reached into her pocket and took a glance at her phone for the time, 10pm already...? How long did she actually go on for? It must be some kind of record. But with some luck, her grandfather would be on top of the hill again around this time...talking about stars and constellations. Talking to her granddad was far more pleasant. He always seemed proud, always seemed to have a level of faith in her that her mother didn't. So she stood up, almost fell due to her legs falling asleep...but nonetheless she was glad not to be sitting still anymore. She was grateful she had a week off uni or she would have been locked out of the campus. Either way, a chance to watch the stars with her granddad again...nothing better to end the evening.

She never realized until she left the door and started that long walk that she could have these moments, usually they were rather sad and a little difficult to think about. She blamed it on the depression of the pressure from her mother, but she also felt like it was a more indirect sadness. Either way, the sight of her grandfather looking into his telescope as though always searching for something in particular lifted a weight off her mind for a moment. She approached, and he didn't even take notice of her presence at first...he just mumbled something as he changed the angle he was staring into.

"Hey grandad." She greeted, he immediately looked up to her and gave a gentle calm smile, which actually surprised her considering the fact he seemed rather bothered by not being able to find something.

"Hello sweetheart, clear night tonight!" He grinned before looking back into his telescope. Donna pulled up the small chair that sat nearby, her curiosity peaked when he seemed to be so...adamant in finding whatever it was. "Now, if only it was clear enough for that bloody thing..."

"Bloody what?" Donna asked, Wilfred leaned back in his seat a bit. He gave a sigh, did he have to repeat the story again?

"You know the star! The bright blue one that lad showed me during the war...I could never find it after he vanished." He answered almost as though it should be a little obvious. "He was a strange boy...married young to the nurse who tended to him afterward. They both vanished into thin air a year or two later and ever since, that star has been  _impossible_ to find." He then started mumbling to himself once more, he was probably the strangest thing he had ever experienced.

Nobody would believe an old man like him, nobody would believe some young man predicted the bullet that should have hit him and he didn't listen. The man took the bullet that was meant for him, and honestly ever since he took his warnings fairly seriously. He was lucky it didn't hit anywhere major, unlucky to have the most stubborn nurse take care of him. At least, she had a bad reputation with the others...however he seemed to have this odd sense of affection and relief on his face when she showed up. There were even jokes that she had become 'soft' because of him.

Well, Wilfred knew otherwise because he once almost got whacked across the head, all because he had to give her a sarcastic remark. So not  _quite_ completely gentle...but gave a few laughs at how awkward he was when communicating with her.

"Blue star..." Donna said to herself, she focused a little too hard on those words slightly "Seems familiar...you sure it wasn't something on TV or something?"

"No, you said the first time I told ya as well." He mentioned, though she was rather young when he did so she couldn't recall saying that. She was still slightly confused, however she far enjoyed confusion over that one old war story than being yelled at by her mother again.

"Hey granddad." She said to catch his attention, she wanted to change the topic. The strangeness now was rather...haunting in it's own way, better to lighten up the mood a bit "I met a man that's just like the guy from your story."

He looked towards his granddaughter with bemusement. "Oh come on Donna, he can't be that strange can he?"

"He is, and he follows Sarah Jane around like a lost puppy. A little cute, actually."

"She isn't training to become a nurse, is she?"

"Nope, journalist."

"Good, because that  _would_ be frightening." He gave a slight laugh, it had the tiniest hint of sadness to it. Of course, he disappeared...the thought of such a coincidence probably had a strange effect on him too. He was the man who saved his life, when he was avoiding shooting a single bullet and causing a single death that boy protected him. His story probably have ended right there if it weren't for him.

Well, if it weren't for that he wouldn't have met his wife...so he gathered the experience wasn't all terrible for him.

She had an idea, how about she invited them over at some point? Her mum was  _perfectly_ pleasant when they had visitors. Truthfully though, she just didn't like sitting alone for far too long when there is time off to stay at home. She didn't live that far, she just far enjoyed staying in her dorm room where she could simply put the phone down while her mother lectures. She could simply come back ten minutes later and act like she listened to the whole thing.

But somehow, after what she said it might have a bad effect on her granddad considering what she just said. Seemed almost cruel, having two people there that apparently acted similar to the two people that vanished on him.

She couldn't do that...not to him.

* * *

 

Leaving John's house it was dark, in fact it made James fuss enough for John to offer her a drive home. She would have refused, but he didn't want James walking in the dark alone, and he didn't want her walking in the dark alone either. So John being well...John he somehow convinced her to get into the car and give the address for the apartment. Nevermind his father, he was already parenting  _her_. Telling her that she was going to eat, right? She was going to go to bed on time right? It may be the holidays but no sleep will have a bad effect on her health!

...Well, she now knows where James gets it from. It was obvious that John's level of constant worrying had rubbed off into him, in fact it made her see John in a slightly different light than the one Donna gave. It had been a while since she had people to worry about her by the time James came along, but now she wasn't used to someone worrying so much they would driver her home. He rambled on in the car, his worry levels would give him a heart attack she could swear.

"Also if James goes out in the dark again, especially with all of this strange figures coming to light..." He then said, making her turn her head "Make sure you keep him off the streets." 

Sarah gave a light nod "Sure, I'll make sure to keep him from wondering that far again." She promised returning to look outside the window. How late was it? How long did she stay with him? When John pulled up to her building, he examined it for a bit before making a comment.

"Looks like you're a fellow 'I'm moving in the middle of nowhere to avoid people' person. Look at what good it did us." John was joking, she could tell. But the slight truth beneath it began to show, yes he  _actually_ was avoiding human contact. For her though, it was more that she didn't think it was necessary at first, she guessed she could blame her slightly messed up treatment during her childhood for that.

"Well, it isn't too bad." She commented, as she opened the car door "Thank you for the drive back." She then added as she left. John sat there for a few moments, he decided to just wait until she entered the building before he left. Just in case, their track record was terrible for disasters so he wanted to be sure. Something in his gut still screamed, and honestly he was a little more wary than normal so he didn't want to take a single risk. When he could see that she entered safely, nothing suspicious was going on, nobody out in the area as far he could see he decided to leave. He was finally the tiniest bit less worried though...

Something still felt wrong.

Maybe the feeling wasn't exactly narrowed down to Sarah but someone closer to her, it could be James but he is pretty sure that he was alright. He wouldn't leave the house this late unless there was an emergency and in this town, that was the rarest and most exciting thing that could happen. Why didn't they choose to be somewhere where more things happened?

Oh yeah, because  _disaster._

It was when he went home, his odd feeling actually got to a new level of worse. The feeling went from _'possibly, I should make sure Sarah actually enters the building'_ all the way to ' _now that I remember, James did mention something about his concern over someone nearby'_. Oh...

Now his head was pulling him in different directions, he could practically feel the problem as his hand reached the door of his car. Well, he was completely off, why did he leave that  _stupid boy_ alone? He wasn't exactly perfect at getting the exact moment but usually he's close enough to guess. He was correct in driving her home, he was correct in not letting them walk...but he got something wrong and he didn't know where. It was then he approached the front door to his house, and...

Well, that feeling was confirmed. 

James was just leaving the second he had reached the entrance, John gave him a rather stern glare. The kind that a parent would give when they wanted to say ' _and what do you think YOU'RE doing?'_ without actually verbally saying it. James suddenly looked rather guilty and an awkward, shy smile started spreading across his face.

"Sorry um...I was just checking to see if you're home." James tried to explain, but John didn't believe a word. Actually, he now looked even more suspicious than earlier.

"Were you planning on leaving without telling me, James?" John asked, he gave a smile himself but one that was rather terrifying. This was exactly like every time he was mad, he wondered where this was drag him to. Another layer of hell? Will he make him look through all his papers again and do some of his work for him?

"Y-you see..." Jame stuttered slightly, you could almost see the internal screaming over the situation he was in. "I forgot something over at Sarah's when I had to spend the night."

"That has to be the  _biggest_ lie you have ever told me." John was now seething ever so slightly "What have I told you about my intuition? You can't go out tonight."

"It's important-"

"It can wait until tomorrow!" He snapped as he pushed his way into the house. These two were always such a pain, did they enjoy the idea of trouble? Is it so hard for an old soul like him to avoid it? He didn't remember everything, but he remembered  _enough_ in his eyes. James was cut from the same cloth as him, in a way he could predict how he was going to react. Of course, he had another idea but...it meant breaking a few rules. "Look, I need you see what I see, so please...look inside yourself and tell me you  _don't_ sense something wrong!"

"Exactly, something is wrong." James countered as much as he could "And it tells me I have to leave."

Wait, John froze. What did he just say? Making sure the door was locked, he observed him carefully...well that was a little things James had never brought up. He honestly thought he'd have to beg and plead for him to see.

But apparently they both had conflicted visions.

"What did you say?" John asked still with a hint of anger, but also a sudden new curiosity, but he would ask about that later. Now he knows he knows, he had another issue he wanted to bring up for the past 200 years or so. "What is up with you and self-sacrifice? You always get yourself hurt and even  _killed_ for the sake of others! I drove her home, I watched her walk into the building! You don't  _need_ to go get yourself hurt this time!" His voice started to rise, his worry and concern...his fears had come up within his argument. But sadly, not everything was there as James looked ever so confused at his explanation.

"John what are you talking about? This is the first time I've done  _anything_ like this!" He retorted, if only it was...then John wouldn't be having as many heart attacks as he has had over the centuries. In fact, he was so determined that she was fine and that he shouldn't be throwing himself in there and dictating such fate that he waved the key in front of James. "Not this time..." He mumbled "You may not understand now, but you will thank me." He then added before storming off with it in his hand. He wasn't going to let anything happen, not this lifetime. Feeling a sense of safety over his decision he stomped slightly upstairs to cool down his temper.

Well, not exactly temper. At this point it was a moment of absolute panic at the idea of another failure. Taking care of all of them was his job, though his main concern was James's ability to be selfless at a dangerous rate...he saw his job as making sure things run smoothly. It took this long to find a place so peaceful, this long to give a chance of something completely normal and he wasn't going to let them lose it.

* * *

 Later that night James didn't even sleep, he had a terrible feeling that hadn't gone away for days. He had never told John since he was a child he could do the same thing, he assumed that it was pointless. Not as if he could help anyone he wanted to, whenever he sense anything he would either be slightly too late or the person won't believe him. One time, he ignored it and it ended in the loss of a wonderful, loyal friend.

He couldn't fail again, not this time. Not with someone so precious, he was going to get out of the house whether John liked it or not. He will take the sudden murder in the morning, he will take whatever he will do next as punishment for his disobedience. He quietly sneaked his way downstairs making sure to not even step on a creaky floorboard. John was a light sleeper, he will wake up and be even angrier than earlier that he attempted leaving once again. He will obey the Rose suggestion, but he will not take a suggestion that will harm someone he felt like he couldn't lose.

When he reached the back door, he prayed to himself that he had forgotten the spare key in the kitchen drawer. And with some luck, he did...though trying to quietly search in something that contained so many  _noisy_ items was a challenge to say the last. Gripping the key, he very slowly and carefully unlocked the door. When he had finally gotten outside he breathed in relief for a second. His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest...shaking and anxious of turning to see a furious John appear like a clichéd jump-scare he locked the door once more just as slowly. Afterwards, it was only to get through the back fence and onto the street. It almost seemed a little too easy...

Again, with the expected jumpscare. He wondered when that was going to occur.

Walking in the dark was almost peaceful. Just the sky, the Moon...the stars. It was probably the only time he was completely at peace, the only time he felt comforted despite the feeling of dread right now. His pace fastened when he felt like his timing was already very wrong, when he was nearby her apartment however...he felt a sudden force violently hit him in the face. It felt like a fist, when he finally managed to focus and attempt to get himself back up he was hit down once more.

Before he could open his mouth as he got up, he was hit once more, and everything start fading. He almost cursed choosing to be an artist and hadn't studies martial arts, but being hit so quickly without a chance to recover from how winded he was he began to feel frustrated at being unable to retaliate. Especially when whoever it was wanted to make sure he couldn't get back up so easily.

When he was down for the count however, for a moment he did feel a person going through his pockets, grunting in frustration at the lack of whatever he was looking for and left him on that freezing cold pavement. What luck...of course at this moment he started having his strange dark humour at the slight fear he felt during that time.  _Oh John-related humpscare, I would much prefer you right now than bleeding out here._

Of course, he was now even more hesitant in going home. He lay there for a moment, of John saw him like this he would be beyond fury with him not listening. But at the same time...the feeling faded. Like he had averted something far worse for someone else. After that moment of relief, that hope that he just didn't take a slight beating for nothing he slowly began to lift himself up off the ground. His body screamed at him, his arm was throbbing...he could taste blood so that sting on his cheek was definitely not just a small scrape. He wasn't hit nearly hard enough to need a hospital maybe, but he could tell some parts of his body will feel like hell.

He couldn't walk as far as home like this, he was pretty sure halfway his upper leg will feel even worse than now. He tried to wipe a bit of the blood off his face, though that was a bad idea he lifted his bad arm in order to do so. Standing felt like it took more effort than it should, and there was only one direction he could go.

Goddammit...Sarah was going to have to keep him again. She wasn't going to like the sight of him, she was going to ask a lot of questions and he was going to have to answer them. She probably wouldn't stop until he gave a satisfying answer anyway.

Wincing and pushing himself to make it the last few meters to the apartment building, he decided to try and think of something other than the pain and the struggle. Right, he had to focus on something else and hope he didn't forget to stop walking. He began to think about drawings, he began to think because Sarah might end up saving him again he should really draw her something as a thank you. he could design her something or draw something that she loved-:

Oh, he almost walked past the door...he laughed to himself slightly before instantly regretting it. His left side ached almost as much as his left arm and even the slight laugh made it sting. As soon as he opened the door however, he remembered something which was now his greatest enemy.

_Stairs._

He had to slowly and carefully take it one step at a time, almost falling a few times when he missed a step. Reaching the top left him in complete relief and like the hell was finally over. With his good arm, he knocked on her door.

It took awhile possibly because she was sleeping, but soon...it began to open showing a face he had been hoping to see after that. Her expression however, went from drowsy to shock when she saw whatever state he was in. He was unable to see it himself after all, but it was enough to make her at a loss for words for a moment.

"James..." She quietly spoke before gently pulling him inside "What...what in the world happened!?"

He tried to give her a relaxed smile "Just rant into some coward who would only come for me from behind." He responded. Sarah however, was not comforted in the least, before he knew it she had sat him down and ran off into her bathroom. "Nothing I can't handle."

"That isn't  _nothing._ " Sarah called back before returning with what seemed to be a first-aid kit. And when she opened it...it was remarkably prepared for anything, far more than the average journalist student. She immediately began to pull off his shirt "Stop acting like you're fine, you were just beaten!"

His face seemed to fluster and he tried to fight slightly, but somehow for someone so small...she had the ability to get it off against his protests. However, him being injured didn't help in the least, he was far less able to push her hands away like he could normally. She started pulling bandages and anything out of the box that could clean and tend to his wounds. It was almost like an instinct she had never shaken off, he winced further when the disinfectant touched any open wounds. Her hands were almost expert at it.

"I'll be fine." He tried to reassure her "You don't need to go this far, I just...can't walk that far back is all."

"What were you doing going out this late anyway?" She began to lecture him, of all things. She almost sounded like John at this point "It doesn't matter how quiet this place is, you can't do that!" She then added, he hissed when she continued. Being scolded by her was somehow familiar in a sense, it almost had a comfort after the shock he had suffered. Though how upset she was made him feel a sudden sting a guilt, maybe John was right...he should have stayed at home. "D-don't..." Her voice started to go quiet, seemed like she may be done "Don't do this again."

He began to see her wrap a bandage around his arm, it was almost perfect. She had a surprising set of skills that he didn't even guess. "I'm sorry..." He quietly said in a guilty tone. "I'm so sorry, I had this feeling that something bad might happen, I didn't want it to be you."

She gave a long sigh, she stopped for a moment just to glance at him. "Thank you for worrying, but you need to take care of yourself too." She mumbled returning to her work. When she was done, James couldn't help but keep noticing how professional her entire procedure was.

"Have you done this before?" He asked, she must have...nobody can have such a skill out of nowhere.

"Not at all, I'm just improvising." Sarah replied making him smile in disbelief.

"You're very familiar with this for someone who is 'just improvising'." He couldn't help but comment "You must have a talent for it."

Sarah gave a light shrug "I am good at plenty of things, I think it's because I read a lot." She smirked almost with a hint of confidence. It was an unlikely reason, but he was going to trust her nonetheless. She might just have a knack for it, somehow he thought she may make a decent nurse. "Anywhere else?" She asked when she finished cleaning up his cheek, well he had his leg but...that meant taking his pants off and he'd rather not do that. So he gently shook his head, it didn't feel as though his leg was as bad anyway...he expected more of a rather nasty bruise there.

"I guess I should call John and accept my fate...thank you for patching me up." He said it in a tone that was humorous but truthfully John terrified him more than heights and hospitals together in the same place. "He's going to murder me..."

"That can wait, I still have to check your leg I think." She breathed, he suddenly looked rather like a deer in the headlights at that comment.

"You knew?" He tilted his head.

"Considering you had a slight limp." She responded "Pants off."

"That's a little forward, you could take me out to dinner first." He jested despite the situation. "I think we should take it rather slow."

Sarah suddenly looked like she was staring at him with a bemused expression "You wish, take them off." She then requested once more, he let out a sigh and unwillingly and slowly, took off his belt. When he slowly moved his pants down however, it was probably good that she asked. The damage there was far more than he thought. Even he was surprised and shocked at the sight of how bruised it was already. "I'll get you something to lower the swelling." She commented, she didn't even flinch like it was the weakest injury she saw.

Somehow, he felt like being obedient was far better than defying her in the area. Like if he started refusing to show her injuries he may have been forced to do so by any means necessary. "I think it will be fine, not like it won't heal-: Ah!"

She started to examine the wound and made it ache more by doing so. "You're still such a baby..." She quietly mumbled to herself before catching her words.  _Still?_ She was pretty sure she hadn't seen him injured before, yet she said those exact words.

"I'm sorry I'm so sensitive to pain!" He groaned as she continued to move the sensitive limb. "John said I had the pain tolerance of a rabbit..."

"Funnily enough my aunt made that comment when I was a child..." She said before a smile appeared on her face "Then, I grew out of it."

"And you grew amazing medical skills." He gave a small laugh despite the feeling in his side. The bandages helped a little, but it was still just sensitive enough to cause him to stop himself before it hurt further.

When she was done, she offered his pants back. "It seems fine, just don't lie on that side of your body at all." She suggested, though James had already figured he shouldn't do that unless he wanted a rude awakening. He pulled his pants back on and searched for his shirt, he had suddenly become aware of what just occurred and honestly he didn't know how she was so relaxed. Really, she was a professional, it seemed so natural for her to do such a thing like her everyday job.

And at that, he became strangely comfortable as well.

"If you're going to get violently beaten for the sake of checking on me, the least I can do keep you out of further trouble." She then shrugged "John did ask me to keep you off the streets."

"He did?" James was surprised, looks like he covered both possibilities then. She then approached him closely again, handing him his missing shirt he was looking for so desperately. 

"Yes, and I'm going to take that responsibility rather seriously. If you can't walk, you're staying again." She then decided, he didn't however take that idea too badly. Sarah didn't scare him as much, somehow John was more like an furious old dragon that just wanted to sleep for once.

"Guess I should be more careful." He nodded, she stayed a little closer than expected, and now he was awkwardly holding his shirt without a single movement away. She smiled at him, she was obviously as tired as he was now...waking her up wasn't exactly something he planned to do after all.

She gently grabbed his face and kissed his wounded cheek "Thanks for watching out for me." She spoke against the bandage before much to her surprise and even his own, he automatically without even thinking turned his face and directly kissed her straight on the lips. For a moment he had forgotten what he was doing, and he lingered there for a little while before even flinching and even felt her kiss back ever so slightly. He then realized what he had just done to his  _friend_ and pulled back, now he was stepping away and his face had gone completely red. Hers wasn't doing too well in that area either, in fact she seemed completely speechless and even confused at her own actions in the area.

"I uh..." He swallowed "Do that as a form of thankfulness I guess." He then quickly looked for an excuse. Sarah, who herself had become shocked at what he just did quickly packed away her medical kit, trying to seem as cool as possible when it was already impossible.

"Well, I think we  _definitely_ need some sleep so...goodnight~" She was now speaking quickly herself and moving to her bedroom.

"Sarah-" He couldn't even finish, she was already gone like lightening into her room. She didn't even put the kit back into the bathroom, he guessed he shook her up that much.

He was an  _idiot_. What the hell did he do that for? He just...outright did it like it was nothing, like it was a thing he did every day without a second thought. She stayed there as well which meant he didn't even realize, if she had pushed away then at least it wouldn't have lasted nearly as long.

Now he was sat back down on the couch, he was staring down at the floor in a daze. He should apologize, he should go ahead and knock on her door...say sorry and maybe lock himself away in a cave and never ever leave it again. He breathed and decided to just apologize, at the very least he should say that he was sorry for doing something so  _stupid._

He approached her door and gently knocked, he realized that this was making him more nervous than it should. She only peeked out of the door when she answered, though. It was almost adorable in its own right, he then took a moment and decided to just say what needed to be said.

"I'm sorry, again." He looked rather more than apologetic right now "That was so stupid..."

She was still just staring at him, like she was trying to recall something. She was examining him further, she pulled him into her room, for some reason she felt a little insecure saying it somewhere that wasn't in a private space. Even if the whole apartment was empty, it was an odd sensation.

She began to speak a few times but stopped herself, she started pacing the room slightly still in shock over what he had done. Thinking it all over, this entire scene seemed almost a little too familiar and everything just seemed  _normal_.

There was only one way to found out if it was in her head, she had approached him and leaned in for another kiss. A little less sudden, and even more expected this time...enough so that James could have backed off but strangely enough...he stayed in that same spot and allowed her to do so. He lifted his one arm and wrapped it around her before she fell back on her bed, pulling him down with her. Cursing his injuries, he realized he couldn't even move as easily as he wanted, he shifted to lie beside her on his right side and allowed her to kiss him again, this time he returned it barely moving his left arm to place a hand on hers.

"We should sleep." He murmured "Before this starts getting out of control, we should rest." He stated before sitting up and planning to move back to the living room. Well, he would have succeeded if he didn't grab his sleeve before he could even move away from the bed.

"You could stay here at least. No point in acting like nothing happened now." She was now sitting up herself "I'm sure the couch isn't that comfortable."

"Sarah, you're tired and I might bleed all over you bed. It isn't exactly romantic." He reasoned before she rolled her eyes at him, that was  _not_ what she meant.

"I meant sleep, what did you think I was going to do? I refuse to let you injure yourself further. Besides if you're in here I can make sure you rest." She explained before moving to the left side of the bed. Though it was mostly for comfort, she thought he could use it as well. Besides, they already crossed the line...and in order not to freak out at her actions she had to find something rational. That rationality was making sure he didn't go falling off the couch or something and giving her more to bandage.

He whispered a last 'sorry' before taking the empty side, he didn't realize how much he appreciated warm sheets after lying on a cold hard ground, feeling like his body was stiff in every moment and wondered what he was going to break next. He lay on his stronger side now facing Sarah throughout this mess.

"I guess I'm resting then, don't fuss..." He then murmured as he finally settled down. She seemed to noticed and her body stilled as well.

"I'm going to fuss whether you like it or not." She quietly spoke with a slight yawn. "Goodnight." She then said, trying to make sense of what she just did. But somehow, it felt like it was something that was missing for a long time. Him being there, and her telling him ' _please don't lie on your injuries tonight, okay?'_ and she expected him to do so some point during the night anyway and wake her up. She would say that she told him, but she'd worry and try and check to see if things had gotten worse.

"Goodnight, I promise I won't scream if I do." He replied, Sarah seemed to let out a slight laugh at the though ' _Oh you will...'_

She had pulled him in a little closer though, just in case he decided to move without thinking.


End file.
